"Surya said, 'Never do, O Karna, anything that is harmful to thy self
and thy friends; thy sons, thy wives, thy father, and thy mother; O thou
best of those that bear life, people desire renown (in this world) and
lasting fame in heaven, without wishing to sacrifice their bodies. But
as thou desirest undying fame at the expense of thy life, she will,
without doubt, snatch away thy life! O bull among men, in this world,
the father, the mother, the son, and other relatives are of use only to
him that is alive. O tiger among men, as regard kings, it is only when
they are alive that prowess can be of any use to them. Do thou
understand this? O thou of exceeding splendour, fame is for the good of
these only that are alive! Of what use is fame to the dead whose bodies
have been reduced to ashes? One that is dead cannot enjoy renown. It is
only when one is alive that one can enjoy it. The fame of one that is
dead is like a garland of flowers around the neck of a corpse. As thou
reverest me, I tell thee this for thy benefit, because thou art a
worshipper of mine! They that worship me are always 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, 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.'"