*सूत उवाच पादपानां विधिं वक्ष्ये तथैवोद्यानभूमिषु तडागविधिवत्सर्वम् आसाद्य जगदीश्वर //
*sūta uvāca pādapānāṃ vidhiṃ vakṣye tathaivodyānabhūmiṣu taḍāgavidhivatsarvam āsādya jagadīśvara //
சூதர் கூறினார்—மரங்களுக்குரிய விதியையும், அதுபோல தோட்டநிலங்களுக்குரிய விதியையும் நான் கூறுவேன். உலகீசுவரனை அணுகி, குளம்-விதி போல அனைத்தையும் விளக்குவேன்.
This verse does not discuss pralaya; it introduces a practical, dharmic topic—rules for trees, gardens, and ponds—presented as authoritative instruction connected to the “Lord of the world.”
By framing tree-planting and garden-land management alongside pond-regulations, it points to dharmic public welfare: kings and householders gain merit and social benefit through maintaining water resources and green spaces.
It signals a Vāstu-oriented linkage: garden planning (udyāna-bhūmi) and tree procedures are to be understood “like pond-rules” (taḍāga-vidhi-vat), implying standardized design principles for landscape and waterworks within Puranic Vastuvidyā.