Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Mālyahāriṇī-kuṇḍa is situated on the western side of Rādhā- kuṇḍa. Śrīmatī Rādhikā sat in a bower of mādhavī flowers here and strung necklaces of pearls. Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has described this pastime very beautifully in his book Muktā-carita. The confidential realizations attained by mahā-bhāgavatas in deep meditation are completely true and transcendental.
Once, during the month of Kārtika on the occasion of the Dīpāvalī festival at Girirāja-Govardhana, the Vrajavāsīs were busily absorbed in decorating their cows and other animals with various kinds of ornaments. The gopīs also brought various ornaments from their homes to decorate the cows. Śrī Rādhikā and Her girlfriends sat on the mādhavī terrace near the Mālyahāriṇī-kuṇḍa making several kinds of beautiful pearl ornaments. Meanwhile, Śrī Kṛṣṇa arrived there, having heard of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s activities from the mouth of the parrot Vicakṣaṇa, and asked for some pearls. However, Rādhikā and Her gopī friends refused, proudly giving several reasons why they could not give Him any. Nonetheless, Śrī Kṛṣṇa insisted, “Sakhīs, if you cannot give Me a large quantity of pearls, then at least give Me a few with which to decorate My beloved cows Haṁsinī and Hariṇī.” But the headstrong gopīs rejected this request also. Lalitā collected a palmful of pearls of the very finest quality. She held them out to Kṛṣṇa, and taunted, “Kṛṣṇa, these pearls that You want to decorate Your cows with are most precious. They are not ordinary. Do You understand?”
Disappointed, Śrī Kṛṣṇa returned home where He sulkily took some pearls from Mother Yaśodā. He dug holes in the soil near the bank of the Yamunā, put manure in them and planted the pearls. He then fenced the area to protect the growing plants from animals and birds and irrigated the field daily, with a large quantity of cow’s milk. He asked the gopīs to donate some milk for this, but they refused that request as well.
All were amazed when, within a few days, each and every pearl began to sprout. The plants grew right before everyone’s eyes, and began to bear pearl fruit, from which extremely beautiful pearls grew in abundance. When the gopīs went to the bank of the Yamunā to fetch water, they saw this astonishing field of pearls and started to whisper among themselves. Śrī Kṛṣṇa happily harvested a huge quantity of pearls, brought them home and placed them in the lap of His mother. “Kanhaiyā, where did You get such excellent pearls?” she asked in amazement. Śrī Kṛṣṇa told her the whole story.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās now began stringing uncountable pearl necklaces for all their cows, and, decorated with these pearl necklaces, these cows began to wander everywhere. Unable to tolerate His success, the gopīs secretly brought pearls from their homes and began to sow them as Śrī Kṛṣṇa had done. They irrigated the field with an abundance of cow’s milk as He did. Their pearls sprouted, but to their surprise, only into thorny creepers. The gopīs became worried. They told Śrī Kṛṣṇa what had happened, and asked Him for some of His pearls. But Kṛṣṇa, the crown jewel of rasikas, scornfully rejected their request. Finally He accepted kisses and embraces, and enjoyed the touch of their transcendental limbs in exchange for His pearls. Mālyahāriṇī-kuṇḍa received its name by virtue of this confidential pastime.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is the kunda where the famous pearl pastime took place which has been described in Raghunatha Dasa Goswami’s book Mukta-charita. One day, Krishna came to this kunda and saw that the gopis were making garlands and necklaces from very fine and beautiful pearls and He asked the gopis for a few of their pearls so that he could decorate His favorite cows. Unfortunately, the gopis refused to give any of their pearls and so in an angry mood, Krishna ran off to find mother Yashoda. Krishna requested mother Yashoda to give Him some pearls so He could plant them in His garden and grow His own pearls that would be far superior to the pearls of the gopis. Mother Yashoda smiled and informed Krishna that pearls do not grow in gardens, but come from the sea. Ignoring His mother’s words, Krishna took the few pearls that His mother gave Him and left to plant them in His garden. Every day Krishna went to the garden and watered the pearls with cow’s milk provided by mother Yashoda. Within a short time a few green shoots started sprouting from the ground and Krishna joyfully informed the gopis about the shoots appearing in His pearl garden. On hearing Krishna’s words, the gopis simply laughed saying that the shoots were not pearls but only thorn bushes.
Within no time the shoots soon turned into tall bushes covered with fabulous multicolored pearls that shone as brightly as the moon. Krishna then ran to inform the gopis about His fabulous pearls, saying that they were far superior to the dull looking pearls of the gopis. When the gopis saw Krishna’s pearls, they were overwhelmed by the exquisite beauty of the pearls and requested Krishna to give some of His pearls to them, but He flatly refused. The gopis then decided that they would plant their own pearl bushes and after collecting all the pearls from their parent’s houses, they planted them in a garden. Three times a day the gopis watered their pearl garden with milk, ghee, yogurt, and butter, thinking that this would produce even better pearls than what Krishna had grown in His garden.
When green shoots appeared in their pearl garden the gopis were very happy, but that happiness was short-lived and soon changed to sadness, when only large thorn bushes grew from the shoots. Krishna arrived there with His cowherd boyfriends and started laughing at the gopi’s very costly thorn bushes. Then in front of the gopis, Krishna began distributing His wonderful pearls amongst His cowherd boyfriends, who then began decorating their cows, buffaloes, and even their goats, with garlands of beautiful pearls. Even the monkeys in the trees were given a share of the fabulous pearls, but the gopis were not given even one. Because the gopis had taken all the pearls from their homes, they were now in trouble with their elders due to having lost everything in their failed pearl garden.
The gopis tried everything to get some pearls from Krishna and even agreed to pay, but after haggling for some time over the price, Krishna ultimately refused to sell the pearls.
Krishna then secretly began making pearl necklaces for each of the gopis, selecting the very best for Radharani. Krishna then put Radha’s pearl necklace into a golden box and after engraving Her name on the top of the box, sent one of His boyfriends to deliver the fabulous pearl necklaces to Radharani and the other gopis. Radharani and the gopis were overjoyed to receive a gift of such exquisite pearls. They in turn sent many gifts to Krishna out of happiness. When the gopis returned to their homes wearing the high quality and opulent pearl necklaces, their elders became very happy to see their good fortune.
