Vaisampayana said, "And when the king of the celestials presented
himself in the guise of a Brahmana, beholding him, Karna said,
'Welcome!' And not knowing his intention, Adhiratha's son addressed the
Brahmana, saying, 'Of a necklace of gold, and beauteous damsels, and
villages with plenty of kine, which shall I give thee?' Thereupon the
Brahmana replied, 'I ask thee not to give me either a necklace of gold,
or fair damsels, or any other agreeable object. To those do thou give
them that ask for them. If, O sinless one, thou art sincere in thy vow,
then wilt thou, cutting off (from thy person) this coat of mail born
with thy body, and these ear-rings also, bestow them on me! I desire, O
chastiser of foes, that thou mayst speedily give me these; for, this one
gain of mine will be considered as superior to every other gain!'
Hearing these words, Karna said, 'O Brahmana, I will give thee homestead
land, and fair damsels, and kine, and fields; but my mail and ear-rings
I am unable to give thee!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Although thus urged with various words by
Karna, still, O chief of the Bharata race, that Brahmana did not ask for
any other boon. And although Karna sought to pacify him to the best of
his power, and worshipped him duly, yet that best of Brahmanas did not
ask for any other boon. And when that foremost of Brahmanas did not ask
for any other boon, Radha's son again spake unto him with a smile, 'My
mail, O regenerate one, hath been born with my body, and this pair of
ear-rings hath arisen from _Amrita_. It is for these that I am
unslayable in the worlds. Therefore, I cannot part with them. Do thou, O
bull among Brahmanas, accept from me the entire kingdom of the earth,
rid of enemies and full of prosperity! O foremost of regenerate ones, if
I am deprived of my ear-rings, and the mail born with my body, I shall
be liable to be vanquished by the foes!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "When the illustrious slayer of Paka refused to
ask for any other boon, Karna with a smile again addressed him, saying,
'O god of gods, even before this, I had recognised thee, O Lord! O
Sakra, it is not proper for me to confer on thee any unprofitable boon,
for thou art the very lord of the celestials! On the contrary, being as
thou art the Creator and lord of all beings, it is thou that shouldst
confer boons on me! If, O god, I give thee this coat of mail and
ear-rings, then I am sure to meet with destruction, and thou shalt also
undergo ridicule! Therefore, O Sakra, take my earrings and excellent
mail in exchange for something conferred by thee on me! Otherwise, I
will not bestow them on thee!' Thereupon Sakra replied, 'Even before I
had come to thee, Surya had known of my purpose and without doubt, it is
he that hath unfolded everything unto thee! O Karna, be it as thou
wishest! O son, except the thunder-bolt alone, tell me what it is that
thou desirest to have!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words of Indra, Karna was filled
with delight and seeing that his purpose was about to be accomplished he
approached Vasava, and intent upon obtaining a dart incapable of being
baffled, he addressed Indra, saying, 'Do thou, O Vasava, in exchange for
my coat of mail and ear-rings, give me a dart incapable of being
baffled, and competent to destroy hosts of enemies when arrayed in order
of battle!' Thereupon, O ruler of earth, fixing his mind for a moment on
the dart (for bringing it there), Vasava thus spake unto Karna, 'Do thou
give me thy ear-rings, and the coat of mail born with thy body, and in
return take this dart on these terms! When I encounter the _Daitya_ in
battle, this dart that is incapable of being baffled, hurled by my hand,
destroyeth enemies by hundreds, and cometh back to my hand after
achieving its purpose. In thy hand, however, this dart, O son of _Suta_,
will slay only one powerful enemy of thine. And having achieved that
feat, it will, roaring and blazing, return to me!' Thereat Karna said,
'I desire to slay in fierce fight even one enemy of mine, who roareth
fiercely and is hot as fire, and of whom I am in fear!' At this, Indra
said, 'Thou shall slay such a roaring and powerful foe in battle. But
that one whom thou seekest to slay, is protected by an illustrious
personage. Even He whom persons versed in the Vedas call '_the
invincible Boar_,' and '_the incomprehensible Narayana_,' even that
Krishna himself, is protecting him!' Thereupon Karna replied, 'Even if
this be so, do thou, O illustrious one give me the weapon that will
destroy only one powerful foe! I shall, on my part, bestow on thee my
mail and ear-rings, cutting them off my person. Do thou, however, grant
that my body, thus wounded, may not be unsightly!' Hearing this, Indra
said, 'As thou, O Karna, art bent upon observing the truth, thy person
shall not be unsightly, or shall any scar remain on it. And, O thou best
of those that are graced with speech, O Karna, thou shall be possessed
of complexion and energy of thy father himself. And if, maddened by
wrath, thou hurlest this dart, while there are still other weapons with
thee, and when thy life also is not in imminent peril, it will fall even
on thyself.' Karna answered, 'As thou directest me, O Sakra, I shall
hurl this _Vasavi_ dart only when I am in imminent peril! Truly I tell
thee this!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Thereupon, O king, taking the blazing dart,
Karna began to peel off his natural mail. And beholding Karna cutting
his own body, the entire host of celestials and men and _Danavas_ set up
a leonine roar. And Karna betrayed no contortions of face while peeling
his mail. And beholding that hero among men thus cutting his body with
an weapon, smiling ever and anon, celestial kettle-drums began to be
played upon and celestial flowers began to be showered on him. And Karna
cutting off the excellent mail from his person, gave it to Vasava, still
dripping. And cutting off his ear-rings also from off his ears, he made
them over to Indra. And it is for this fact that he came to be called
Karna. And Sakra, having thus beguiled Karna that made him famous in the
world, thought with a smile that the business of the sons of Pandu had
already been completed. And having done all this, he ascended to heaven.
And hearing that Karna had been beguiled, all the sons of Dhritarashtra
became distressed and shorn of pride. And the sons of Pritha, on the
other hand, learning that such plight had befallen the son of the
charioteer, were filled with joy."
Janamejaya said, "Where were those heroes, the sons of Pandu, at that
time? And from whom did they hear this welcome news? And what also did
they do, when the twelfth year of their exile passed away? Do thou, O
illustrious one, tell me all this!"
Vaisampayana said, "Having defeated the chief of the Saindhavas, and
rescued Krishna, and having outlived the entire term of their painful
exile in the woods, and having listened to the ancient stories about
gods and _Rishis_ recited by Markandeya, those heroes among men returned
from their asylum in Kamyaka to the sacred Dwaitavana, with all their
cars, and followers, and accompanied by their charioteers, their kine,
and the citizens who had followed them."