Shloka 3.35.21
मारीचाश्रमगमनम् (Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage)
निर्यासरसमूलानां चन्दनानां सहस्रशः।वनानि पश्यन्सौम्यानि घ्राणतृप्तिकराणि च।।।।
niryāsarasamūlānāṁ candanānāṁ sahasraśaḥ |
vanāni paśyan saumyāni ghrāṇatṛptikarāṇi ca ||
He beheld, by the thousand, forests of sandalwood trees whose trunks exuded fragrant resin—gentle and pleasing, satisfying even the sense of smell.
He saw thousands of tree trunks with fine-smelling resins and sandalwood trees.
The verse indirectly supports the Ramayana’s dharmic lens: nature’s abundance is portrayed as orderly and nourishing, yet the moral weight depends on the traveler’s intent—beauty does not sanctify unrighteous purpose.
Rāvaṇa continues his journey and observes richly fragrant sandalwood forests, adding vivid environmental detail to the travel sequence.
A cultivated perception (attentiveness to the world), though the epic often juxtaposes such sensitivity with ethical failing when desire overrules dharma.