prÄk pá¹›thor iha naivaiá¹£Ä
pura-grÄmÄdi-kalpanÄ
yathÄ-sukhaá¹ vasanti sma
tatra tatrÄkutobhayÄḥ
prÄk - before; pá¹›thoḥ - King Pá¹›thu; iha - on this planet; na - never; eva - certainly; eá¹£Ä - this; pura - of towns; grÄma-Ädi - of villages, etc.; kalpanÄ - planned arrangement; yathÄ - as; sukham - convenient; vasanti sma - lived; tatra tatra - here and there; akutaḥ-bhayÄḥ - without hesitation.
From this statement it appears that town and city planning is not new but has been coming down since the time of King Pá¹›thu. In India we can see regular planning methods evident in very old cities. In ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam there are many descriptions of such ancient cities. Even five thousand years ago, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s capital, DvÄrakÄ, was well planned, and similar other cities — MathurÄ and HastinÄpura (now New Delhi) — were also well planned. Thus the planning of cities and towns is not a modern innovation but was existing in bygone ages.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports of the Fourth Canto, Eighteenth Chapter, of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, entitled “Pá¹›thu MahÄrÄja Milks the Earth Planet.â€