ine, O thou foremost of truthful persons! O mighty-armed one,
I tell thee to-day from affection, what is for thy great good! With the
object, O Karna, of obtaining thy ear-rings, Sakra, moved by the desire
of benefiting the sons of Pandu, will come unto thee, disguised as a
Brahmana! He, as well as all the world, knoweth thy character, viz.,
that when solicited by pious people, thou givest away but never takest
in gift! Thou, O son, givest unto Brahmanas wealth or any other thing
that is asked of thee and never refusest anything to anybody. Knowing
thee to be such, the subduer himself of Paka will come to beg of thee
thy ear-rings and coat of mail. When he beggeth the ear-rings of thee,
it behoveth thee not to give them away, but to gratify him with sweet
speeches to the best of thy power. Even this, is for thy supreme good!
While asking thee for the ear-rings, thou shalt, with various reasons,
repeatedly refuse Purandara who is desirous of obtaining them, offering
him, instead, various other kinds of wealth, such as gems and women and
kine, and citing various precedents. If thou, O Karna, givest away thy
beautiful ear-rings born with thee, thy life being shortened, thou wilt
meet with death! Arrayed in thy mail and ear-rings, thou wilt, O
bestower of honours, be incapable of being slain by foes in battle! Do
thou lay to heart these words of mine! Both these jewelled ornaments
have sprung from _Amrita_. Therefore, they should be preserved by thee,
if thy life is at all dear to thee.'

"Hearing these words, Karna said, 'Who art thou that tellest me so,
showing me such kindness? If it pleaseth thee, tell me, O illustrious
one, who thou art in the guise of a Brahmana!'--The Brahmana thereupon
said, 'O son, I am he of a thousand rays! Out of affection, I point out
to thee the path! Act thou according to my words, as it is for thy great
good to do so!' Karna replied, 'Surely, this itself is highly fortunate
for me that the god himself of splendour addresses me today, seeking my
welfare. Listen, however, to these words of mine! May it please thee, O
bestower of boons, it is only from affection that I tell thee this! If I
am dear to thee, I should not be dissuaded from the observance of my
vow! O thou that are possessed of the wealth of effulgence, the whole
world knoweth this to be my vow that, of a verity, I am prepared to give
away life itself unto superior Brahmanas! If, O best of all rangers of
the sky, Sakra cometh to me,