The sannyāsīs of Benares soon fell at the feet of Caitanya and asked for His grace (kṛpā). Caitanya then preached pure bhakti and instilled into their hearts a spiritual love for Kṛṣṇa, which obliged them to give up sectarian feelings. The whole population of Benares, on this wonderful conversion of the sannyāsīs, turned Vaiṣṇava, and they made a massive saṅkīrtana with their new Lord.
After sending Sanātana to Vṛndāvana, Mahāprabhu went to Purī again through the jungles with His comrade Balabhadra. Balabhadra reported that Mahāprabhu showed a good many miracles on His way to Purī, such as making tigers and elephants dance on hearing the name of Kṛṣṇa.
From this time, that is, from His thirty-first year, Mahāprabhu continually lived in Purī, in the house of Kāśī Miśra, until His disappearance in His forty-eighth year at the time of saṅkīrtana in the temple of Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha. During these eighteen years, His life was one of settled love and piety. He was surrounded by numerous followers, all of whom were of the highest order of the Vaiṣṇavas and who were distinguished from the common people by their purest character and learning, firm religious principles and spiritual love of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.