As Karna lay dying in the mud, Krishna decided to test his famed generosity. Disguising himself as an old brahmin, Krishna knelt beside Karna and said, "Before you die, please give me a gift, I beg you."
Karna didn't know what he could give, but then he remembered: his two gold teeth. He pulled out the teeth and offered them to the brahmin.
"You are indeed the most generous man of this age," the brahmin said, and then Krishna manifested his divine form.
"Thank you, Lord," said Karna as he closed his eyes.
That was the last sight Karna saw.
Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 275. In some versions, the teeth are dripping with blood, so the brahmin will not touch them; Karna then shoots an arrow into the sky to make it rain and wash the blood from the teeth.
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