HR playing mind games after I negotiated my offer

Feeling stressed about this whole situation. Last month I had multiple rounds of interviews for a Senior Developer position at a growing product company in Bangalore. Everything went really well - cleared all the technical rounds and had great conversations with the team.

Last week they finally sent the offer: ₹19 LPA (fixed) with standard benefits. Since I'm already at ₹17 LPA at my current service company and this role involves more responsibilities, I asked for ₹21 LPA. I thought this was reasonable given the current market.

After that conversation, HR's behavior completely changed. Previously they were calling daily for updates, but now they've gone quiet. When I follow up, I get cryptic "still discussing with leadership" responses. It's been 6 days without any clear answer.

Is this a standard pressure tactic? My friend says I should've just accepted whatever they offered since "the market is bad" but I don't want to undervalue myself. At the same time, I'm worried they'll rescind the offer. My current job is stable but the work is getting repetitive.

Should I send another follow-up or just wait?

This is in Bangalore, and it's a Series A-funded startup with around 90 employees.