Shloka 3.35.27
मारीचाश्रमगमनम् (Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage)
तत्रापश्यत्स मेघाभं न्यग्रोधमृषिभिर्वृतम्।।।।समन्ताद्यस्य ताश्शाखाश्शतयोजनमायताः।
tatrāpaśyat sa meghābhaṁ nyagrodham ṛṣibhir vṛtam |
samantād yasya tāḥ śākhāḥ śatayojanam āyatāḥ ||
There he beheld a cloud-hued nyagrodha banyan, encircled by sages, whose branches spread on every side for a hundred yojanas.
He saw a banyan tree with its branches spread on all sides measuring a hundredyojanas, looking like a cloud and providing shelter to the sages.
Sages gathered under a vast tree evokes dharma as refuge and order: tapas and righteous living create ‘shelter’ for the world, symbolized by the expansive banyan canopy.
Rāvaṇa encounters a remarkable banyan tree associated with sages, marking a spiritually charged landmark on his route.
The sages’ virtue: ascetic discipline and sanctity (tapas, śama), implied by their presence and the sacred atmosphere.