प्राक्पृथोरिह नैवैषा पुरग्रामादिकल्पना यथासुखं वसन्ति स्म तत्र तत्राकुतोभयाः
prāk pṛthor iha naivaiṣā pura-grāmādi-kalpanā yathā-sukhaṁ vasanti sma tatra tatrākutobhayāḥ
Synonyms
prāk—before; pṛthoḥ—King Pṛthu; iha—on this planet; na—never; eva—certainly; eṣā—this; pura—of towns; grāma-ādi—of villages, etc.; kalpanā—planned arrangement; yathā—as; sukham—convenient; vasanti sma—lived; tatra tatra—here and there; akutobhayāḥ—without hesitation..
Translation
Before the reign of King Pṛthu there was no planned arrangement for different cities, villages, pasturing grounds, etc. Every thing was scattered, and everyone constructed his residential quarters according to his own convenience. However, since King Pṛthu plans were made for towns and villages.
Purport
From this statement it appears that town and city planning is not new but has been coming down since the time of King Pṛthu. In India we can see regular planning methods evident in very old cities. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam there are many descriptions of such ancient cities. Even 5,000 years ago, Lord Kṛṣṇa's capital, Dvārakā, was well planned, and similar other cities—Mathurā and Hastināpura (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.