Birth of Ganesha:

Knowing the arrival of Lord Shiva, Parvati feels relieved and happy. She performs abhyangana snana ( this is a form of bath taken by applying oil to the whole body massage until the whole oil gets into the body and then apply sunnipindi(flour) called “Nalugu “ to body  and rub so that the flour peels of taking all the dust ).  While performing the bath she prepares a boy with the flour and instills life into it . The child is born and she asks him to be guard at the front door as long as she is bathing and tell him not to let anyone enter the house.

The child is now standing as a guard to the door of  the house of Parvati. Shiva comes home and tries to get into the home, where the child is stopped him. Shiva gets angry and in a fit of rage kills the boy by beheading and buring the head and enters the house.

Paravti who is ready by now, receives lord Shiva with affection. In the course of talking the discussion comes up on the boy who was guarding the door. Shiva tells Parvati that he had killed him upon which Parvati narrates the whole story of the birth of the boy and becomes sad. Shiva repents on what he had done and the only way that he can bring the boy to life is by attaching a new head. He sends all the soliders under his command to go and fetch a head of the person who is lying (sleeping) with his head positioned in the North direction. Then all the soldiers go in all the directions and finally return with the head of Gajasura stating that Gajasura was the only one sleeping with his head kept in the North direaction.(Hence it is adviced not to sleep keeping the head in North direction. One more reason being that South is the position of Yama and no one would want to see Yama as soon as they get up).

Shiva then brings back the boy to life by attaching the head of Gajasura and named him Gajanana (Ganesha). He was given a rat by the name of Anindyudu as vehicle. Shiva and parvati after few years  had another son by the name of Kumaraswamy. Kumaraswamy became the commander of the army of gods later. Kumaraswamy is also called as karthikeya,Subramanya etc.