• udyogam — preparations
  From ud-√yuj (to yoke up, to mobilize). The same word that titles the Mahābhārata's Udyoga-parva — the book of war preparation. Pauṇḍraka recognizes military udyoga but not the spiritual yoga it is meant to serve.
• mahā-rathaḥ — the mighty warrior
  Compound: mahā (great) + ratha (chariot-warrior). A formal kṣatriya rank. Pauṇḍraka is not a coward; the Bhāgavata grants him his martial dignity even as it strips his theological pretension. The duel will be earnest.
• akṣauhiṇībhyām — by two full military divisions
  Instrumental dual of akṣauhiṇī (a complete army of 21,870 chariots, elephants, etc.). The Mahābhārata's standard unit. Pauṇḍraka brings two; his Kāśī ally brings three (next verses) — the same five-akṣauhiṇī weight that several Kurukṣetra commanders fielded.
• niścakrāma — went out
  Perfect of niḥ-√kram (to step out). Past tense of departure. The verb has a finality the verse does not soften — once Pauṇḍraka steps outside the city gate, he will not return through it alive.
• purāt — from the city
  Ablative of pura (fortress, city). The city is the boundary of his world; beyond it lies Kṛṣṇa. Gauḍīyas read pura ablatives Mahābhārata-style — the moment of leaving the city is the moment fate clicks into the next mode.

A man who has practiced before mirrors all his life now meets the original; he marches out with two divisions of soldiers and a face full of paint. The army around him is real; the identity behind it is not.