Yogi Prahlad Jani, who claimed to have survived for over 70 years without food and water, no more

Yogi Prahlad Jani alias Chunriwala Mataji passes away | Courtesy: Twitter @ronakbkothari 

Ahmedabad: Yogi Prahlad Jani alias Chunriwala Mataji passed away in Gujarat's Gandhinagar district on Tuesday. He was 90.

Breatharian Yogi Jani, who claimed to have survived without food or water for more than 70 years, died at his native village Charada, his disciples said.

Chunriwala Mataji, as the mystic yogi was popularly known, had a mass following in the state of Gujarat. Jani used to say that Goddess Amba was taking care of him and he did not require food or water to survive.

As per latest inputs, Yogi Jani's body has been kept at his humble ashram-cum-cave located near Ambaji temple in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district. The body will be kept there for two days for last darshan and the mystic will be given ‘samadhi’ on Thursday.

"Mataji was shifted to Charada few days back after he expressed his will to spend some time at his native place. He breathed his last early today morning. His body will be kept at his ashram for two days to enable his devotees to pay homage. He will be given 'samadhi' at his ashram on Thursday," his disciples said in a statement.

Jani was a devout of Goddess Amba and used to be dressed in a red saari (chunri) all the time. It is because he used to be dressed like a woman, that he came to be called Chunriwala Mataji.

As per Jani, he had not consumed food or water for 76 years. His followers say the yogi had stopped eating food and drinking water as early as at the age of 14. He used to survive only on air.

It was at a very young age that Jani had left his parent's house in search of 'spiritual experience'.

Jani had built a small cave near Ambaji temple at young age and used to reside there.

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Yogi Jani's claims of surviving without food or water were always a matter of curiosity and scientists had tested them in 2003 and 2010.

In 2010, scientists and doctors from the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), which comes under the purview of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, carried out an observational study for a fortnight on the mystic to unravel the mystery behind his claim of surviving without food or water.

The DIPAS had said after the study that Jani had "some extreme form of adaptation to starvation and water restrictions".