Ayyappa

Ayyappa - Ayyapa  or Manikandan is a  god worshipped in south india. He is the son born to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. He has many names such as Hari-hara putra ( son of Shiva and Vishnu ), Dharma Shasta ( protector of religion), KaliyugaVardhan ( Lord of the new age).

To save the earth from the deadly poisson of evil the gods and demons  joined together to churn the milky ocean to gather "Amrut '' nectar. They collected the "Amrut" in a pot who was carreid by Lord Dhanvanthari , and kept it to be served at a heavenly feast. When  the demon  Rahu stole the pot to feed the demons, When the loss of the nectar was detected, Lord Vishnu took a form of Mohini, a woman of exquisite beauty, and brought and back the "Amrut" and served it to the gods. While Mohini was serving the Amrut, Shiva got intoxicated with her beauty who was in reality Vishnu. Shiva and Vishnu became one and formed the swaroop of Hari-hara as a result of the homosexual act, gave birth to Ayyappa  from his thigh. Both Shiva and Vishnu discarded this un-naturally born illegitimate child in the forests of Sabarimalai in Kerala.