By Acarya dasa, All-India Padayatra leader
We padayatris were in Vraja-mandala parikrama from October 20 onwards while our Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar’s chariot remained parked in the courtyard of the Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram temple. Our oxen were on vacation at the Bhaktivedanta goshala and having completed parikrama we were then staying in Vrindavan dhama. I regularly visited the oxen at the goshala and they were all in good condition. One day I suddenly got the news that Vitthala had left his body. It was November 29, 2021. All of us were shocked. He was healthy, not suffering from any ailment, but since his partner Vijay left, he had become silent.
Vitthala’s colour was black and our other padayatra oxen are white. He was unique in his colour in the goshala and easy to recognize. He would never harm anybody and would happily walk with any ox yoked in the chariot. He had served in padayatra for two years.
These padayatra oxen are very special souls. As humans some of us can’t go to Vrindavan dhama, but our Vitthala stayed there for a month and left his body there. The oxen are very tolerant – they can’t talk so they can’t tell us their sufferings, they just endure any condition that comes along. When we can’t get shelter for them, they are tied in the open whatever the weather. Mosquitoes bite them and sometimes they get soaked in the rain, but they keep going. In fact, in the lockdowns they looked sad at being unable to serve Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar.
They are very fortunate souls.
All glories to our four-legged padayatris.
