The Lord's generosity towards His devotees cannot be measured. All that Kuchela was able to offer the Lord were rice flakes. But the Lord did not look at the monetary value of the offering, but only the love behind it. The Lord was so moved by Kuchela's affection for Him that the reward Kuchela received was abundant wealth, M.V. Anantapadmanabhachariar said in a discourse.
When Vibhishana refused to go back to Lanka, for he did not want to part from Rama, the Lord gave him the idol of Ranganatha. Ranganatha being none other than the Lord Himself, what the Lord gave Vibhishana was Himself. Who but the Lord will offer Himself to another?
When Draupadi was dishonoured in Duryodhana's court, the Lord saved her from total humiliation.
Yet, when the Krishna avatara was about to draw to a close, the Lord was seized by sadness. He was sorry that He had delayed in coming to Draupadi's rescue and had not responded instantly. He had made her wait for some time.
He felt this was a lacuna on His part. Thus the Lord always feels He could have done more for His devotees. In this respect, He is like a parent. Parents do as much as possible for their children, but still feel that they have not done enough.
Goddess Mahalakshmi is every bit as generous as Her Consort. Parasara Bhattar has a novel interpretation for the head of the idol of the Goddess tilting slightly downwards.
When one offers anjali to Her, by bringing his palms together, She gives the devotee wealth. Not being content with this, She gives him atma anubhava. But She still is not satisfied and finally grants Him Vaikuntam.
All of these She gives just because he has brought his hands together in worship. But having granted moksha, She has nothing better to give. So, She is worried, for She feels She has not amply rewarded the man who has worshipped Her.
It is Her worry about the fact that She has nothing further to give that makes Her look downwards in shame, says Parasara Bhattar.
His interesting explanation is meant to show that the generosity of the Goddess surpasses even that of the Lord.
