Srimad Ramayanam - thAyar greeting rAvanA, different meanings of a single slokA
Vedas are considered apauruSEyam, not made by humans, and therefore cannot be interpreted in any manner. The vEdanta sUtra bASyam has been done by Sri Adi Sankara, Swami Ramanuja and Sri Madhwa 1
On the other hand, itihAsAs and purunAs are made by riSis, but the greatness is that they wrote without diluting the meaning of vEdAs (or Upanishads).
There is lot in them that are dependent on bhakti, which is subjected to bhAvam (or experience). AcAryAs have relished these 2
experiences in Srimad Ramayanam, and one such instance is in Sundara Kandam where thAyAr greets rAvanA when she visits her and places a grass between her and him. She also smiles at his arrogance
The slokA is
तृणमन्तरतः कृत्वा प्रत्युवाच शुचिस्मिता
3
There are bursts of bhAvam for one such slokA.
1) Thayar is used to wearing a veil (gOSA niyamanam) and, hence placed a grass between them.
2) When a person comes to see another person in their place, it’s customary to offer them a seat. As she does not have one, she places
4
grass
3) She’s insinuating that the strength and the valour he displayed is equivalent to that of a grass, meaning nothing.
4) The wealth or the grandeur he displayed pales into insignificance as She was Mahalakshmi, who is the abode of all the wealth in the universe.
5