The veena, also spelled vina (Sanskrit: वीणा, IAST: vīṇā), is a type of stringed instrument from the Indian subcontinent. Over time, ancient musical instruments changed into different forms, such as lutes, zithers, and arched harps. These instruments have many names based on their regions, including the Rudra veena, the Saraswati veena, the Vichitra veena, and others.

The North Indian rudra veena, used in Hindustani classical music, is a stick zither. It is about 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long to match the size of the musician. The instrument has a hollow body and two large hollow gourds, one at each end. It has four main strings that create melodies and three additional strings that produce a continuous sound. To play, the musician uses a small tool attached to the first and second fingers to pluck the melody strings downward. The drone strings are played by gently brushing them with the little finger of the same hand. The musician can press the melody strings with the free hand to change the sound. In modern times, the veena is often replaced by the sitar in North Indian performances.

The South Indian Saraswati veena, used in Carnatic classical music, is a lute. It has a long neck and a pear-shaped body made of wood, unlike the gourd-shaped design of the North Indian version. Like the rudra veena, it has 24 frets, four melody strings, and three drone strings. It is played in a similar way. The Saraswati veena remains an important and widely used instrument in Carnatic classical music.

As a fretted, plucked lute, the veena can create notes across a wide range of three octaves. The long, hollow neck of these instruments allows for smooth sliding between notes and smooth, connected musical phrases found in Indian ragas. The veena has been a key instrument in Indian classical music and is highly respected in Indian culture. It is often shown in artwork of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of arts and learning.

Etymology and history

The Sanskrit word veena (वीणा) in ancient and medieval Indian texts refers to a general name for musical instruments with strings that are plucked. It is mentioned in the Rigveda, Samaveda, and other Vedic texts, such as the Shatapatha Brahmana and Taittiriya Samhita.

In ancient writings, the sage Narada is said to have created the Tanpura, a seven-string instrument with frets. According to Suneera Kasliwal, a music professor, early Sanskrit texts like the Rigveda and Atharvaveda (both before 1000 BCE) and the Upanishads (about 800–300 BCE) use the word vana to describe stringed instruments. Over time, vana evolved into veena. These early texts describe vana as any stringed instrument, including bowed, plucked, single-string, multi-string, fretted, unfretted, zither-like, lute-like, or harp-like instruments.

A person who plays the veena is called a vainika.

The Natya Shastra, an ancient Hindu text on music and performance arts written by Bharata Muni, discusses the veena. This text, likely completed between 200 BCE and 200 CE, compares the human voice to a sareer veena, or a "body's musical string instrument," when it is perfected. It also states that the source of gandharva music (a type of divine music) is the human voice, a string instrument, and a flute. This metaphor of the voice as a veena is also found in older Hindu texts, such as the Aitareya Aranyaka and Shankhayana Aranyaka. The Mahabharata describes the sage Narada as a Vedic sage known for playing the vina.

The Natya Shastra describes a seven-string instrument and other stringed instruments in 35 verses, then explains how to play them. The playing techniques suggest that the veena in Bharata Muni’s time was different from the zither or lute that became popular later. Scholars like Allyn Miner believe the ancient veena was more like an arched harp. Early lute and zither-style veena players are shown in Hindu and Buddhist cave art from the early centuries of the common era. Indian sculptures from the mid-1st millennium CE also show musicians playing stringed instruments. By about the 6th century CE, the goddess Saraswati is often depicted holding a zither-style veena, similar to modern versions.

One of the earliest veenas used in India, from ancient times until the Gupta period, was a harp-like instrument, specifically an arched harp. It was played with strings parallel to the player’s body, using both hands to pluck the strings. This style is shown on gold coins of Samudragupta. The Veena Cave at Udayagiri contains one of the earliest visual depictions of a veena player, believed to be Samudragupta.

Construction

At first glance, the difference between North and South Indian veenas is the use of two hollow gourds in the North, while the South uses a pear-shaped wooden body instead of the lower gourd. However, there are other differences and many similarities. Modern veenas are often made from fiberglass or other materials instead of hollowed wood and gourds. The instrument's size is adjusted to fit the musician's body, making it comfortable to hold and play. It is typically between 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long. The body is made of special wood and is hollow. Both designs have four melody strings, three drone strings, and twenty-four frets. The end of the instrument is often shaped like a swan or other figures and decorated with traditional Indian designs.

The melody strings are tuned to c' g c G (the tonic, the fifth, the octave, and the fourth). A tuning system called sarani is often used. The drone strings are tuned to c" g' c' (the double octave, the tonic, and the octave). Drones are used to create rhythmic patterns in Indian classical music and to support the harmony of the piece.

The main string is called Nāyakī Tār (नायकी तार) and is located on the left side of the Sarasvati veena. The instrument is played with the right hand, using three fingers and a bent-wire plectrum called a "mizrab." The index and middle fingers strike the melody strings inward, alternating between notes, while the little finger strikes the sympathetic strings outward.

In the North Indian veena, the bola alphabets used are da, ga, ra on the main strings, with other notes created by combining fingers and strings. The veena's settings and tuning can be fixed or adjusted by loosening the pegs. This allows for playing Dhruva with fixed tuning or Cala with loosened pegs, where the second and first strings match.

One of the earliest descriptions of veena terminology, including construction, modification, and use, is found in the book Sangita Cudamani by Govinda.

Types

The term "veena" is a general name for any string instrument. There are many types of veena, including:

• The Rudra veena is a fretted veena with two large, equal-sized tumba (resonators) below a stick zither. It is played by placing it slanting with one gourd on a knee and the other above the shoulder. According to mythology, this instrument was created by the god Shiva. Some sources suggest it may have been invented during the medieval era after the 6th century. Alain Daniélou notes that older versions from the 6th to 10th centuries had only one resonator and seven strings made from different metals.

• The Saraswati veena is a fretted veena highly respected in Indian traditions, especially in Hinduism. It has two resonators of different sizes. Previously called the Raghunatha veena during the time of King Raghunatha Nayaka, it is played at a 45-degree angle across the body, with the smaller gourd resting on the musician's left thigh. This instrument is linked to an ancient South Indian instrument from the Cauvery delta region, known as Nanthuni or Nanduruni.

• The Vichitra veena and Chitra veena (also called gottuvadhyam) do not have frets. The Vichitra veena produces sounds similar to a human singer. It is played using a piece of glass, which is pressed against the strings to create musical effects.

• The Sitar is a Persian word meaning "three strings." Some legends say that Amir Khusro of the Delhi Sultanate renamed the Tritantri veena to sitar, but historical records from Akbar’s time do not mention the sitar. It has been popular among Indian Muslim musicians.

• The Surbahar is a bass version of the sitar, created to allow players to produce deep tones similar to those of the Rudra veena.

• The Ālāpiṇī vīṇā is a historical one-string stick-zither veena, shorter than the one-string Eka-tantri vina. It had a half-gourd resonator pressed against the player’s chest while plucking the string.

• The Bobbili Veena is a specialized Saraswati veena carved from a single piece of wood. It is named after Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh, where it originated.

• The Chitra veena is a modern 21-string fretless lute, also called Gottuvadhyam or Kotuvadya. It is also a 7-string arched harp that was used in ancient times until about the 5th century CE.

• The Kachapi veena (now called Kachua sitar) has a wooden model of a turtle or tortoise as a resonator.

• The Kinnari veena is one of three veena types mentioned in the Sangita Ratnakara (written between 1210–1247 CE) by Śārṅgadeva. The other two are the Ālāpiṇī vīṇā and the Eka-tantri vina. It is a tube zither with multiple gourds for resonators. In museum examples, the center gourd is open where it presses against the player’s chest.

• The Pinaki veena is a historical bowed veena, similar to the Rudra veena. Notes were produced by moving a stick or coconut shell along the string.

• The Pulluva veena is used by the Pulluvan tribe of Kerala in religious ceremonies and Pulluvan pāttu.

• The Mattakokila vīṇā (meaning "intoxicated cuckoo") is a 21-string instrument mentioned in literature, though its exact type is unknown. It may be an ancient veena (arched harp) or a board zither.

• The Mohan veena is a modified sarod created by Radhika Mohan Maitra in the 1940s. It is made from a modified Hawaiian guitar and a sarod.

• The Mayuri veena (also called Taus) has a peacock carved as a resonator and is decorated with real peacock feathers.

• The Mukha veena is a blowing instrument.

• The Naga veena has a snake carved for decoration.

• The Nagula veena has no resonator.

• The Shatatantri veena
• The Gayatri veena (with one string only)
• The Saptatantri veena
• The Ranjan veena
• The Sagar veena, a Pakistani instrument created in 1970 by Raza Kazim
• The Saradiya veena, now called Sarod
• The Thanjavur veena, a specialized Saraswati veena carved from a single piece of wood. It is named after Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, where it originated.
• The Triveni veena