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, alter 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.
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