The teenager was rushed to a hospital after regaining consciousness just before the ceremony started in the Indian state of Karnataka, the Times of India reported Monday.

He is listed in critical condition.

Kumar Marewad had been bitten by a stray dog last month and developed a high fever, according to the report. His condition worsened and physicians placed him on a ventilator, police said.

Medical staff told his family the infection had spread throughout his body and the boy would not be able to survive with being attached to a respirator. Doctors asked the parents if they wanted to keep their son on the machine.

The family decided to take the boy home. When the ventilator was removed, the teenager reportedly seemed motionless and appeared to have stopped breathing.

His parents were headed to their son’s cremation ceremony when he suddenly opened his eyes and began breathing hard, the paper reported.

He was immediately rushed back to the hospital, where he was again placed on a respirator.

Doctors reportedly said he is suffering meningoencephalitis, a viral infection, caused by the dog bite.