Text 3
dūtaṁ ca prāhiṇon mandaḥ
kṛṣṇāyāvyakta-vartmane
dvārakāyāṁ yathā bālo
nṛpo bāla-kṛto ’budhaḥ
dūtam — a messenger; ca — and; prāhiṇot — he sent; mandaḥ — slow-witted; kṛṣṇāya — to Lord Kṛṣṇa; avyakta — inscrutable; vartmane — whose path; dvārakāyām — at Dvārakā; yathā — as; bālaḥ — a boy; nṛpaḥ — king; bāla — by children; kṛtaḥ — made; abudhaḥ — unintelligent.
Thus slow-witted King Pauṇḍraka sent a messenger to the inscrutable Lord Kṛṣṇa at Dvārakā. Pauṇḍraka was acting just like an unintelligent child whom other children are pretending is a king.
According to Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, the reason Śukadeva Gosvāmī here mentions for the second time that Pauṇḍraka sent a message to Lord Kṛṣṇa is that the great sage is astonished at Pauṇḍraka’s extreme foolishness.