protected by me. That also is another reason for my
addressing thee thus! Thinking again, O mighty-armed one, that this one
revereth me with great reverence, I have been inspired with love for
thee! Do thou, therefore, act according to my words! There is, besides
some profound mystery in all this, ordained by fate. It is for this, that
I tell thee so. Do thou act without mistrust of any kind! O bull among
men, it is not fit for thee to know this which is a secret to the very
gods. Therefore, I do not reveal that secret unto thee. Thou wilt,
however, understand it in time. I repeat what I have already said. Do
thou, O Radha's son, lay my words to heart! When the wielder of the
thunder-bolt asketh thee for them, do thou never give him thy ear-rings!
O thou of exceeding splendour, with thy handsome ear-rings, thou lookest
beautiful, even like the Moon himself in the clear firmament, between the
Visakha constellation! Dost thou know that fame availeth only the person
that is living. Therefore, when the lord of the celestials will ask the
ear-rings, thou shouldst, O son, refuse him! Repeating again and again
answers fraught with various reasons, thou wilt, O sinless one, be able
to remove the eagerness of the lord of the celestial for the possession
of the ear-rings. Do thou, O Karna, after Purandara's purpose by urging
answers fraught with reason and grave import and adorned with sweetness
and suavity. Thou dost always, O tiger among men, challenge him that can
draw the bow with his left hand, and heroic Arjuna also will surely
encounter thee in fight. But when furnished with thy ear-rings, Arjuna
will never be able to vanquish thee in fight even if Indra himself comes
to his assistance. Therefore, O Karna, if thou wishest to vanquish Arjuna
in battle, these handsome ear-rings of thine should never be parted with
to Sakra.'"

SECTION CCC

"Karna said, 'As thou, O lord of splendour, knowest me for thy
worshipper, so also thou knowest that there is nothing which I cannot
give away in charity, O thou of fiery rays! Neither my wives, nor my
sons, nor my own self, nor my friends, are so dear to me as thou, on
account of the veneration I feel for thee, O lord of splendour! Thou
knowest, O maker of light, that high-souled persons bear a loving regard
for their dear worshippers. Karna revereth me and is dear to me. He
knoweth no other deity in heaven,--thinking this thou hast, O lord, said
unto me what is for my benefit. Yet,