Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
The word ‘mala’ pronounced as ‘mal’ refers to any kind of ‘goods’ including ‘provisions’ as well as ‘food’. The village has derived its name from a pastime where Krishna had to produce some ‘mala’ for His friends to dissipate their hunger. Krishna used to come here with His cowherd boyfriends to graze the cows in the surrounding forests. One day, knowing that His friends must be hungry, Krishna suddenly exclaimed that He could accomplish any wonderful thing He wanted at any time He pleased. Hearing Krishna’s words, the cowherd boys decided to test Krishna’s ability. Because the cowherd boy’s favorite pastime was enjoying picnics in the forest, they informed Krishna that in order to prove His statement, He would have to produce all kinds delicious mala so that they could enjoy a wonderful feast in the forest. The cowherd boys also stipulated that after they had eaten, all the mala should remain as if nothing had been eaten; then only it could be considered a truly wonderful thing.
Krishna is the master of all mystic powers and known as Yogeshvara, the Lord of all yogis and mystics. From His mind only, the whole universe with its innumerable stars and planets and myriad number of living beings has been created, therefore, to create a wonderful feast in the middle of the forest was not a very difficult thing to do. Therefore, by Krishna’s mystic potency, large quantities of food preparations (mala) in earthen pots suddenly appeared in front of the cowherd boys. There was a wonderful variety of preparations including: laddus, milk cakes, milk sweets, sweet-rice, condensed milk (kshira), rabari, gulabjamuns, halva, malpuras, yogurt, cream and butter. There were so many varieties of mala that no cowherd boy could count them all. The cowherd boys wasted no time in relishing all the mala while glorifying Krishna for such an incredible display of mystical power. After everyone had eaten to their full capacity, the cowherd boys were astonished to see that the pots still remained full.
