According to Kasyapa Samhita:-- The wife of lord Indra did not conceive for hundreds of years. Therefore, her husband gave her 'amrita' (Ambrosia) to drink. When he was administering this potion to his wife, she vomited out a little bit of it because of her tenderness, and this fell down on the earth. Then Indra said, "You will have many children because of this potion". The portion of it which you have vomited out & which has fallen on the earth will carry a foul smell because of its contact with the foul smelling earth. Even then, it will have the same effect as the Amrita on the human beings. But it will not be liked by 'brahmanas' & persons engaged in spiritual uplift.Where ever the 'Amrita' fell garlic grew up.
Both 'Gada Nigraha' & 'Ashtanga hrdaya' carry a different mythological story. When the gods & demons churned the ocean, 'Amrita' (Ambrosia) came out of it. 'Rahu' belonging to the group of demons on learning that Lord Vishnu was not going to give the 'Amrita' to the demons disguised himself as a god & took a portion of it. When it was known to Lord Vishnu, he decapitated the demon because of which a portion of the 'Amrita' fell on the earth. This gave rise to garlic. Since it is a part of 'Amrita', it has excellent therapeutic properties. On the other hand it became polluted as it had been consumed by a demon because of which 'brahmanas' are forbidden from consuming it.
'Harita Samhita' contains an altogether different type of mythological story. When the ocean was churned by the gods & demons, 'Amrita' (Ambrosia) came out of it with some other things. 'Garuda' (the celestial bird) took the vessel containing 'Amrita' to heaven. On his way, he had to fight with the demons because of which a few drops of 'Amrita' fell upon the earth & this gave rise to garlic. Once there was a famine for twelve years on the earth & all the forests were dried out. Therefore, the saints inhabiting these forests could not get food & had to leave their habitat. One amongst them was very old & was not able to travel. He could not accompany the sages & was left behind in that forest. He moved from place to place in search of food. Because of his virtuous acts, he saw some plants which were green in colour & he ate away the entire plant including its leaves for six months. Thereafter, leaves were not available to be eaten. Therefore for a month, he lived on the bulbs (roots) of this plant. After the famine was over, the sages who had deserted the forest came back & found that the old man whom they had thought was dead, had become a healthy youth. They were surprised & enquired about the cause of his youthfulness. He did not disclose the reason & was cursed by the sages who said that whatever he had eaten would not be considered fit for consumption by 'brahmanas' & it would carry a strong foul smell. It was garlic which was responsible for his youth. 'Bhava Prakash' has narrated a similar story.
'Kasyapa Samhita' narrates yet another mythological story about the origin of this useful plant. 'Rudra' or 'Shiva', in the course of his wanderings on the earth to relieve humans of their miseries once came upon 'rishi patnis (spouses of the sages) who lived in the forests. Since they were childless they sought 'Rudra's' blessings. He asked to partake of a plant& told them that it would free them from diseases & give them children who would be strong & have a good complexion. The sage's wives took his advice & were blessed with healthy children. that plant was garlic.
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