Canto 3 -
Araṇya-kāṇḍa
Chapter 16: Lakṣmaṇa’s Description of Winter
Text 3.16.23
अवश्यायतमोनद्धा नीहारतमसा वृताः।
प्रसुप्ता इव लक्ष्यन्ते विपुष्पा वनराजयः॥
avaśyāya-tamo-naddhā nīhāra-tamasā vṛtāḥ
prasuptā iva lakṣyante vipuṣpā vana-rājayaḥ
avaśyāya-tamaḥ-naddhāḥ = bound by the darkness of icy water; nīhāra-tamasā = by the darkness of ice; vṛtāḥ = and enveloped; prasuptāḥ = asleep; iva lakṣyante = appear to be; vipuṣpāḥ = without flowers; vana-rājayaḥ = the forests.
Bound by the darkness of icy water and enveloped by the darkness of ice, the forests without flowers appear to be asleep.