śrī-śuka uvāca
nanda-vrajaṁ gate rāme
karūṣādhipatir nṛpa
vāsudevo 'ham ity ajño
dūtaṁ kṛṣṇāya prāhiṇot

 śrī-śukaḥ uvāca - Śukadeva Gosvāmī said; nanda - of Nanda Mahārāja; vrajam - to the cowherd village; gate - having gone; rāme - Lord Balarāma; karūṣa-adhipatiḥ - the ruler of Karūṣa (Pauṇḍraka); nṛpa - O King (Parīkṣit); vāsudevaḥ - the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva; aham - I; iti - thus thinking; ajñaḥ - foolish; dūtam - a messenger; kṛṣṇāya - to Lord Kṛṣṇa; prāhiṇot - sent.


Text

Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: O King, while Lord Balarāma was away visiting Nanda’s village of Vraja, the ruler of Karūṣa, foolishly thinking “I am the Supreme Lord, Vāsudeva,” sent a messenger to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Purport

Since Lord Rāma had gone to Nanda-vraja, Pauṇḍraka foolishly thought that Lord Kṛṣṇa would be alone and therefore easy to challenge. Thus he dared to send his crazy message to the Lord.