@list1 = qw(1 3 44 5 50 6 34 23); @list2 = qw(11 35 4 50 9 6 34 23); @list3 = qw(23 1 23 4 50 6 34 23); @list4 = qw(43 1 33 34 50 9 6 34 23); @list5 = qw(3 1 45 3 4 50 6 34 23); @list6 = qw(14 54 3 4 50 6 34 23); $total = [\@list1, \@list2, \@list3, \@list4, \@list5, \@list6]; $search = '9'; map{$tmp++ , map{ print "found in list $tmp \n" if $_ eq $search } @$_ }@$total