Hinduism
Lord Shiva and his birth
There are three supreme gods 1st one is Lord Shiva, Second one is Brahma and third one Vishnu. Lord shiva is the destroyer of evil but that destruction usual leads to new forms of existence. Lord Shiva has three eyes. The third eye always keep this power to destroy evil. There is a very interesting story behind the birth of lord shiva. One day Brahma and Vishnu both are arguing about which of them are more powerful. That time one great blazing pillar appeared which extended binto the earth and sky. Now both god Brahma and Vishnu tried to find out the start and end of that pillar. Brahma turned into goose and flew up to find the top of the pillar, while Vishnu turned into a boar and dug into the earth to look for its roots. Both were unsuccessful and came back and saw Lord Shiva emerged from an opening in the pillar. Recognizing Shiva’s great power, they both god accepted that there is the third power who rules over the inverse. Check this video on youtube on Lord Shiva.
Shiva saved the gods and the world from destruction by swallowing the poison of Vasuki, a serpent. Drinking the poison made Shiva's neck blue, and he is often shown that way.
Indian river Ganges (known as Ganga):
At one time, the Ganges passed only through the heavens, leaving the earth dry. After a sage (wise man) changed the course of the river, it became a raging torrent and threatened to flood the earth. Shiva stood beneath the river and let its waters wind through his hair to calm its flow.
The story of Ganesha
Ganesha (also known as Ganesa or Ganapati) is one of the most important gods in Hinduism and he is also worshipped in Jainism and Buddhism. Ganesha has a elephant head and human body, representing the soul (atman) and the physical (maya) being respectively. He is also the patron of writers, travellers, students, commerce, and new projects (for which he removes obstacles from one's path) .
Shiva's son Ganesha
Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Parvati and he is the brother of Karthikeya (or Subrahmanya), the god of war. He was created by his mother using earth which she moulded into the shape of a boy. As Shiva was away on his meditative wanderings, Parvati set her new son as guard while she bathed. Unexpectedly, Shiva returned home and, on finding the boy, and outraged at his impudence in claiming he was Parvati’s son, Shiva asked his followers to fight the boy, and in the process cut off his head. Parvati was upsit for Shiva and Shiva asked his followers to get a new head for the boy. The first animal available was an elephant, so Ganesha gained a new head and became the most distinctive of the Hindu gods.
Shiva's son Murugan
The story of Muragan known as Kartikeya (Shiva's son)
He was born for the sole purpose of destroying Sura Padman, an asura (demon) who was giving immense trouble to the Devas (in heaven) & rishis (asints). Murugar is said to have been created from the sparks from Lord Siva's third eye.
The story of Ayyapa (Shiva's son)
A great King Rajashekara was childless and thus had no heir (son) to inherit his throne. Both the hapless king and his queen prayed ceaselessly to Lord Shiva for a child.
Around the same time, a demon by the name of Mahishasura medidated and asked Lord Brahma was forced to grant his wish that nobody on earth could destroy him. Mahishasura was killed by Goddess Durga.
Determined to avenge her slain brother, Mahishi, the sister of Mahishasura secugotred a wish from Lord Brahma that no being except the son of Vishnu and Shiva could slay her. Lord Vishnu assumed the female persona of Mohini and a the male child born out of the union of Mohini and Lord Shiva was placed under the care of Lord Shiva’s childless devotee, King Rajashekhara.
On one of his hunting trips to the forests King Rajashekara heard an infant’s wails from the forest. Astounded, he followed the sounds and came upon a beautiful child furiously kicking its feet and arms. The king stood there, perplexed – he longed to take the child home to his palace.
As the child was wearing a gold chain, the sadhu directed the King to name him ‘Manikandan’ – one with a golden neck.
Ecstatic, Rajashekhara took Manikandan home and narrated the happenings to his queen. They both felt that they had been blessed by Lord Shiva himself.
As a child, Manikandan was very intelligent and excelled in martial arts and shastras and surprised his guru (teacher) with his brilliance and superhuman talents.
In the meantime the Queen and Rajashekhara had their own son. The king's minister was wicked and he convinced the Queen that Manikandan should not be king. The queen pretended to be ill, and a lie was told to Manikandan that the queen could only be cured with Tigress milk (so that Manikandan would go to the forest and be killed by wild animals). Manikandan went to the forest and on the way he saw that Mahishi was cruel and harassing a lot of people. A bloody battle soon ensued and at the end, Manikandan mounted Mahishi’s chest. Mahishi realized that the divine being on her was the son of Hari and Haran, chastened, she bowed before the young boy and died.
Manikandan came back from the forest riding a tigress.
References:
1. http://www.sabarimalaayyappan.com/lordayyappan.htm
2. http://www.saigan.com/heritage/gods/muruga.html
3. https://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-worship-the-linga-of-Lord-Shiva
4. http://hindumythologyforgennext.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-lord-shiva-married-goddess-parvati.html