Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
The word māṭa refers to a large earthen pot meant for churning yoghurt and other household chores. During Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, these pots were made here and used by the Vrajavāsīs in their daily household work; hence the village is known as Māṭa. It lies two miles south of Bhāṇḍīravaṭa and five miles north of Vṛndāvana on the other side of the Yamunā. The land in Māṭavana is for cow grazing, and there is a famous temple of Baladeva here. In Bhakti-ratnākara, Māṭa-gaon is described as follows:
eī ‘māṭhagrāma’ – mahā ānanda ekhāne
nānā krīḍā kare rāmakṛṣṇa sakhāsane
mṛttika-nirmita bṛhat pātra – māṭha nāma
māṭhotpatti-prasasta-e hetu māṭha grāma
dadhimanthanādi lāgi vrajavāsīgaṇa
layena asaṅkhya māṭha – aise sabe kana
nānā krīḍā kare rāmakṛṣṇa sakhāsane
mṛttika-nirmita bṛhat pātra – māṭha nāma
māṭhotpatti-prasasta-e hetu māṭha grāma
dadhimanthanādi lāgi vrajavāsīgaṇa
layena asaṅkhya māṭha – aise sabe kana
“In Māṭha-grāma, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa played with their sakhās. This place is so named after the huge earthen vessel called a māṭha, which the Vrajavāsīs would use to churn their buttermilk from yoghurt.”
