Shloka 16
Droṇācārya’s Assessment of the Pāṇḍavas: Nīti, Kāla, and Intelligence (विराटपर्व, अध्याय २६)
एते चान्ये च भूयांसो देशाद् देशं यथाविधि । नतु तेषां गतिर्वासः प्रवृत्तिश्नोपलभ्यते,“ये तथा और भी बहुत-से लोग एक देशसे दूसरे देशमें विधिपूर्वक खोज करें। अभीतक तो पाण्डवोंके गन्तव्य स्थान, निवास तथा प्रवृत्तिका कुछ भी पता नहीं लग रहा है
ete cānye ca bhūyāṃso deśād deśaṃ yathāvidhi | na tu teṣāṃ gatir vāsaḥ pravṛttiś copalabhyate ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: «Hayaan ang mga ito, at marami pang iba, na magsiyasat sa wastong paraan, lumilipat mula sa isang lupain tungo sa iba. Ngunit hanggang ngayon, wala pa ring natatagpuang bakas ng patutunguhan ng mga Pāṇḍava, ng kanilang tinutuluyan, o ng anumang tanda ng kanilang mga gawain.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and practical limits of power: even organized, rule-bound efforts may fail when the sought persons act with discipline and secrecy. It underscores prudence (nīti) and self-restraint—searching should be done “yathāvidhi,” yet one must accept uncertainty when evidence is absent.
The narrator reports that agents have been (and should continue) searching across many regions, but they still cannot discover where the Pāṇḍavas have gone, where they are living, or what they are doing—indicating the Pāṇḍavas’ successful concealment during their incognito period.