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Devotees supported Prabhu and laid him down on a beautiful couch. As Prabhu was unconscious, his body was bereft of any movements.

The devotees did various services to Prabhu who was lying unconscious. But, He did not regain consciousness. By way of testing Prabhu, Srivas and Advaitãcharya made various examinations on Prabhu’s body. They placed their hand at the tip of His nose. There was no sign of His breathing. His limbs remained bereft of sense. Whichever part they held fell down like a log of wood, and appeared lifeless. All the devotees trembled with fear on seeing Prabhu in such a state.

Many lamented thinking that by saying“All right! I shall go”, Prabhu had indeed left them forever. Some others said - “Look! Now, He will get up as Gaur Hari ending his Ishwara Bhava”. But Prabhu never got up. The day passed into afternoon. There was no change in Prabhu’s state. He remained lifeless yet. For nearly thirty hours, the devotees remained seated.

All of them felt agonized not knowing what to do, none went to ease themselves or for ablutions. They forgot hunger and sleep. Many decided among themselves that they too would starve to death if Prabhu did not regain consciousness. The door of Srivas Pundit’s house remained in the same locked condition as it was on the morning of the first day. Nobody went out opening the door. The news was not passed on to even Shachi Mata. A devotee said - “Many times before, when Prabhu had fallen unconscious, he has regained consciousness on hearing the sweet sound of the chanting of the Lord’s Names. Let us also do NãmaSankeertan now”. Soon, the devotees chanted the Mahamatra:

“Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare”

in a melodious voice.

There appeared horripulations on Prabhu’s body on hearing this. The devotees became joyous. Later, the devotees began singing. Advaitacharya examined Prabhu’s body. He could sense the flow of breath from his nostril. In between, Prabhu made a loud roar. The devotees felt happy to hear this. They cried aloud - `Hail ! Hail !` and the sound reached the skies. The earth itself seemed to shake by the sound of their feet. Some danced and a few cried out of joy. Some fainted and some others blew the conch. Some offered cool water to Prabhu.

Wiping his eyes, Prabhu woke up as if from sleep and took a look at the devotees around him and was surprised at the way the articles of worship were scattered on the floor, he asked - “Hey! What is this? Where are we? Why have you all assembled here?” Nobody answered. They looked at each other and smiled. Prabhu asked Srivas- “Punditji! What happened actually? Did I behave in a mischievous manner? I hope I have not done any sinful act while I was unconscious! Tell me the truth”.

Controlling his laughter, Srivas Pundit said - “Enough! Please do not take trouble to act any more. Nobody is ready to get fooled any more”. Hearing this Prabhu asked with renewed curiosity - “What are you saying? Tell me the truth“.

To put an end to the matter Srivas said - “Nothing happened. You became unconscious while doing NãmaSankeertan. To bring your consciousness back, we performed NãmaSankeertan once more - That’s all”.

MahaPrabhu replied shyly - “All right! I have troubled you people a lot. It is already very late. Please start. Should you not take bath and do your daily duties like Sandhyavandana. You have not even done your morning Sandhyavandana.” The devotees too happily went to the Ganges for bath. How fortunate they were !

To be continued...

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