Panibhyamali Purna Ratna Chashakam

Holding a jewel-cup filled with mead

In her hands, she is holding a vessel (cup) filled with mead (a fermented beverage made of water and honey, malt, and yeast).

In real life, when we are suffering in hungry, pious people may provide us a banana to eat. Will they peel the outer layer of banana, cut them into pieces and then provide the same? Never. But a mother will do that literally. Even when the child does not to drink the milk from her breast, she herself takes the milk in a cup and then feed it to the baby slowly. Such is the patience of motherhood. This part is in continuation with "aapina vakshoruham", divine mother is taking much care to her offsprings and she never tolerates her child in hunger. Hence she is ready with the vessel to feed us. She knows very well that all the children are not able to get the milk of knowledge directly from her. Hence she herself decided to give it in other easily available form in a vessel (As annapoorna). (Here we have to think other ideology also: The sadhaka has to reach the mother directly to get her grace. Even if its not possible, the divine mother herself makes an arrangement (GURU) to show and teach them how to get her grace. Here, the well-ornamented jewel cup is an Upamana for "Swaguru Deva" (OM SHRI GURUPYO NAMAHA; OM KAMADEVAYA NAMAHA)

How the vessel looks? The vessel itself has beautiful jewel works and high-quality gems (Rathnam - is very common word to denote all the gems and here no particular gem has been specified). When feeding the children, the worldily mother uses many tricks to attract the child towards the food. One such technique is providing the food in attracting plates (My mom usually gave me in meals plate so that I put each pieces in all over the plates, play a lot and also eat). Similarly, divine mother is also having a pathram (vessel) to attract her offsprings to get the knowledge meal as early as possible. This shows ultimately how much affectionate she is towards us.

As shri sankaracharya in soundarya lahari said "other gods are posing with different postures like vara and abhaya". But matha is our own mother, not even to treat her like superior god, she can be treated just like a mother and hence she is giving darshan as simple as a mother, whom we see in houses with food vessel in her hands.