Shloka 3.35.28
मारीचाश्रमगमनम् (Ravana’s Journey to Maricha’s Hermitage)
यस्य हस्तिनमादाय महाकायं च कच्छपम्।।।।भक्षार्थं गरुडश्शाखामाजगाम महाबलः।
yasya hastinam ādāya mahākāyaṁ ca kacchapam |
bhakṣārthaṁ garuḍaḥ śākhām ājagāma mahābalaḥ ||
On that very tree, the mighty Garuḍa once came to a branch, bearing an elephant and a huge tortoise, intending to eat them.
In the past, the mighty Garuda brought an elephant and a huge tortoise and sat on a branch of this tree to feed on them.
The allusion pairs immense power with appetite, inviting a dharmic reading: strength must be governed by right order and restraint; otherwise power becomes mere predation.
After describing the vast banyan and the sages around it, the narration adds a legendary episode connected with the same tree: Garuḍa once landed there with prey.
Primarily the theme of power (mahābala). In Ramayana ethics, such power is evaluated by whether it aligns with dharma rather than impulse.