Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.68.16
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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gajāhvayam
—
to Hastināpura
Literally 'the city called after the elephant.' Same city named in 14-15 by another name (hāstina-pura) — Vyāsa varies the term as the city's fate changes from honored capital to dragged ruin.
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bāhya - upavanam
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in a garden outside
Balarāma does not enter the city — He waits at the boundary, as protocol demands of a visiting prince of equal rank. The gesture is calibrated: courtesy without surrender.
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uddhavam
—
Uddhava
Kṛṣṇa's most trusted minister, mahā-bhāgavata, recipient of the Uddhava-gītā. His being sent first signals Balarāma's preference for words before weapons.
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “When Lord Balarāma reached the precincts of the city of Hastināpura, He did not enter but stationed Himself in a camp outside the city in a small garden house. Then He asked Uddhava to see the leaders of the Kuru dynasty and inquire from them whether they wanted to fight with the Yadu dynasty or to make a settlement.”
Dhṛtarāṣṭra means “having a kingdom.” His desire for the kingdom was the cause of the foolishness of Duryodhana and others.
He sent Uddhava to Dhṛtarāṣṭra because he was the root of Duryodhana’s foolishness.
A great king sends his minister ahead to read the mood of the court — Balarāma sends Uddhava, His own dear cousin-counselor, to test whether Dhṛtarāṣṭra's hall still remembers civility.
Uddhava is Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma's intimate friend, kinsman, and the recipient of the long Uddhava-gītā (SB 11.6–29). In SB 10.46–47 it was Uddhava whom Kṛṣṇa sent as messenger to console the gopīs of Vraja.
Wherever the Yadus need a diplomat-devotee, Uddhava is the chosen instrument. His presence here marks Balarāma's intent: this errand is delicate, and only a devotee of Uddhava's caliber can be trusted to read a room without inflaming it.
My note
Source: vedabase.io