Shloka 18
Sainyasaṅgraha and Bhāga-Vyavasthā (Forces Assembled and Rival Allocations) | सैन्यसंग्रह-भागव्यवस्था
तेषामेव कृतो भागो मालवा: शाल्वकास्तथा । त्रिगर्तानां चैव मुख्यौ यौ तौ संशप्तकाविति,मालव, शाल्व तथा त्रिगर्तदेशके सैनिक और संशप्तक--सेनाके दो प्रमुख वीर भी उन केकयराज-कुमारोंके ही भाग नियत किये गये हैं
teṣām eva kṛto bhāgo mālavāḥ śālvakās tathā | trigartānāṃ caiva mukhyau yau tau saṃśaptakāv iti ||
Sañjaya nói: “Chính cho các hoàng tử ấy mà phần đối thủ đã được định: quân Mālava, quân Śālvaka, và hai thủ lĩnh hàng đầu của Trigarta—những người lừng danh với tên Saṃśaptaka.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding nature of political and martial commitments: once forces are formally allotted to a leader or faction, loyalty and pledged duty (especially among sworn fighters like the Saṃśaptakas) become decisive ethical pressures that propel the war forward.
Sañjaya is reporting how various regional forces are assigned as contingents to the princes previously mentioned—specifically naming the Mālavas, Śālvakas, and the two chief Trigarta leaders known as the Saṃśaptakas—thereby detailing the coalition-building and troop-allocation on the eve of conflict.