Lord Shani is one of the navagrahas (nine planets). He is also referred to as Saturn. He is also known as Shaneeshwara, Shani Bhagawan, Saneeswaran, Lord Sani and so on. Lord Shani is the son of Lord Surya (the sun god). According to Hindu mythology, after Sanjana (daughter of Lord Vishwakarma) married Lord Surya, she found the power of his rays hard to bear. After giving birth to three children, she decided to leave for her parents' place. Before she left, she created a woman from her own shadow and named her Chayadevi. Lord Shani is the result of the union between Lord Surya and Chhayadevi (also known as Chhaya).
When Lord Shani was born, the sun went into an eclipse. Lord Shani is said to be the enemy of light. He is associated with the color black. The crow is Lord Shani's vehicle. His gems are the blue sapphire (neelam), and all black gems. His metal is lead, and he is the lord of Saturday.