Anahilapataka, 1180 CE
The records office had no separate register for missing children.
Bhima learned this shortly after the morning audience, when the chief clerk explained that the royal archives preserved reports concerning military casualties, displaced households, abandoned property, and requests for assistance received during a campaign. Children who had disappeared during the movement of armies might be mentioned in any of those records, but there was no single collection in which their names could be found.
"Then we will have to search the records individually," Bhima said.
The clerk bowed. "That will take time, Maharaj. The Kasahrada campaign produced several hundred reports, and many of the original accounts were never returned to the capital."
"Begin with the districts closest to the western camp. Look for requests concerning missing children, abandoned households, or families seeking passage through military lines. If you find nothing, we will expand the search."
