By Damodarlila dasa, Maharashtra Padayatra leader
We brought two oxen from Gujarat for our padayatra on the auspicious day of Gita Jayanti in 2021. Our spiritual master, Lokanath Maharaja, mercifully named them Krishna and Arjuna. Happily, they both were serving. We never tied Arjuna to the chariot because the oxen require training and then they are yoked to the chariot, so Arjuna always walked behind the chariot. Three months back he fell causing a fracture of his right leg. We took him to a veterinarian who said to let him rest and he would be fine to return to seva.
With all the treatment Arjuna could not walk properly and began limping, which affected his health. His diet was also reduced and his condition deteriorated. On April 21 he left his body. His partner Krishna was morose and the other oxen also lost their team member. We all performed the final rights and sankirtan for Arjuna with honour and respect – after all, he was a padayatri like us though in an ox body.
These padayatra oxen are not ordinary oxen. They are very fortunate to be directly engaged in the service of Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundar, carrying Their Lordships on their shoulders. They continuously hear the holy name with us and we take care of their food and other necessities. We all miss Arjuna so much there is an emptiness in our hearts, but we need to go on with our preaching mission. We will always carry memories of him in our hearts, and due to his service in padayatra he will definitely achieve a higher destination.
