Veena: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|family of chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent}}

|developed = ''Veena'' has applied to stringed instruments in Indian written records since at least 1000 B.C.E. Instruments using the name have included forms of [[ancient veena|arched harp]] and musical bow, lutes, [[Alpini vina and eka-tantri vina|medieval stick zithers and tube zithers]], [[Pinaka vina|bowed chordophones]], [[Gottuvadhyam|fretless lutes]], the [[rudra veena|Hindustani bīn]] and [[Sarasvati veena]].<ref name=grovekinnari/>

|related= [[Chitra veena]], [[Mohan veena]], [[Rudra veena]], [[Saraswati veena]], [[Vichitra veena]], [[Sarod]], [[Sitar]], [[Surbahar]], [[Sursingar]], [[Tambouras]], [[Tanpura|Tambura]],  

The '''''veena''''', also spelled  '''''vina''''' ([[IAST]]: vīṇā), comprises a family of [[chordophone]] instruments from the [[Indian subcontinent]].{{Sfn|Lochtefeld|2002|pp=753–754}}<ref name=hastvina/> Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as [[lute]]s, [[zither]]s and arched [[harp]]s.<ref name=britveena>[https://www.britannica.com/art/vina Vina: Musical Instrument], Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)</ref> The many regional designs have different names such as the ''[[Rudra veena]]'', the ''[[Saraswati veena]]'', the ''[[Vichitra veena]]'' and others.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Tutut Herawan|author2=Rozaida Ghazali|author3=Mustafa Mat Deris|title=Recent Advances on Soft Computing and Data Mining|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VdYlBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA512 |year=2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-07692-8|page=512}}</ref><ref name=sanyal24>{{cite book|author1=Ritwik Sanyal|author2=Richard Widdess|title=Dhrupad: Tradition and Performance in Indian Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7o8HAQAAMAAJ |year=2004|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-0379-5|pages=23–25}}</ref>

The North Indian design, used in [[Hindustani classical music]], is a [[stick zither]].<ref name=britveena/> About 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) long to fit the measurements of the musician, it has a hollow body and two large resonating gourds under each end.<ref name=sanyal24/> It has four main strings which are melodic, and three auxiliary drone strings.<ref name=britveena/> To play, the musician plucks the melody strings downward with a plectrum worn on the first and second fingers, while the drone strings are strummed with the little finger of the playing hand. The musician stops the resonating strings, when so desired, with the fingers of the free hand. In modern times the veena has been generally replaced with the [[sitar]] in North Indian performances.<ref name=britveena/><ref name=hastvina/>

The South Indian veena design, used in [[Carnatic classical music]], is a lute. It is a long-necked, pear-shaped lute, but instead of the lower gourd of the North Indian design, it has a pear-shaped wooden piece. However it, too, has 24 frets, four melody strings, and three drone strings, and is played similarly. It remains an important and popular string instrument in classical [[Carnatic music]].<ref name=britveena/>{{Sfn|Randel|2003|pp=819–820}}

:''See: [[Ancient veena]]''

 

  | image2 = Lute in Life scenes of Buddha-2nd century CE, Amravati.jpg

  | width2 = 154

  | alt2 = Veena lute from Amravati Stupa

  | caption2 = Lute in relief at [[Amaravati Stupa]], 2nd century CE. The artwork was celebrating the Buddha and his mother.

  |alt3 = painting of kachappi veena from circa 450 A.D.

  |caption3 = India, ca. 450-490 C.E., [[Ajanta Caves]]. A ''[[Kinnara]]'' holding a lute-type veena, possibly a ''kacchapī veena'' (Sanskrit for "tortise veena").<ref>{{cite web |author= Subramanian Swaminathan |title= Paintings |website= saigan.com|url= https://www.saigan.com/heritage/painting/ajanta/ajanta15.html|quote= Kinnara playing Kachchapa Vina, Padmapani Panel, Cave 1 }}</ref> No description survives to go with name.

The [[Sanskrit]] word ''veena'' ({{lang|sa|वीणा}}) in ancient and medieval Indian literature is a generic term for plucked string musical instruments. It is mentioned in the [[Rigveda]], [[Samaveda]] and other Vedic literature such as the ''[[Shatapatha Brahmana]]'' and ''[[Taittiriya Samhita]]''.<ref name=mmw1005>Monier Monier-Williams, [http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/mw/1000/mw__1038.html वीणा], Sanskrit-English Dictionary with Etymology, Oxford University Press, page 1005</ref>{{Sfn|Rowell|2015|pp=33, 86–87, 115–116}} In the ancient texts, [[Narada]] is credited with inventing the ''Tampura'', and is described as a seven-string instrument with frets.<ref name=mmw1005/><ref name="Miner2004p26">{{cite book|author=Allyn Miner|title=Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries|url=https://archive.org/details/sitarsarodin18th00mine|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1493-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sitarsarodin18th00mine/page/26 26]–27}}</ref> According to Suneera Kasliwal, a professor of music, in the ancient texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and ''[[Atharvaveda]]'' (both pre-1000&nbsp;BCE), as well as the [[Upanishads]] (c. 800–300&nbsp;BCE), a string instrument is called ''vana'', a term that evolved to become ''veena''. The early Sanskrit texts call any stringed instrument ''vana''; these include bowed, plucked, one string, many strings, fretted, non-fretted, zither, lute or harp lyre-style string instruments.<ref name="Kasliwal2004">{{cite book|author=Suneera Kasliwal|title=Classical musical instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVsUAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Rupa|isbn=978-81-291-0425-0|pages=70–72, 102–114}}</ref>{{Sfn|Te Nijenhuis|1974|pp=17–22}}{{Sfn|Beck|1993|pp=108–112}}

[[File:Kinnara playing a yazh, Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram, India, ca 8th century CE.jpg|thumb |200px|Kinnara playing a yazh, Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram, India, ca 8th century C.E.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= யாழ் என்னும் இசைக்கருவி - ஒரு பார்வை (translation from Tamil: Jaffna Musical Instrument - A View) |magazine= Varalaaru.com |author= லலிதாராம் (translation from Tamil: Lalitaram) |issue = 8 |date= February 15 - March 14, 2005|url= http://www.varalaaru.com/design/article.aspx?ArticleID=109}}</ref> In the Tamil tradition, the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] word for veena is ''[[Yazh|yaaḻ]]'' ({{lang|ta|யாழ்}}) (often written ''yaazh'' or ''yaal''). It is in the list of musical instruments used by Tamil people in ''[[Tirumurai]]'', dated from the 6th to the 11th century. ]]

A person who plays a veena is called a ''vainika''.<ref>{{cite web |author = Gabe Hiemstra |website= Wisdom Library (wisdom lib.org) |title= Vainika, Vaiṇika: 6 definitions |url= https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/vainika |quote= Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary...Vaiṇika (वैणिक).—i. e. vīṇā + ika, m. A lutist.

One of the early veenas used in India from early times until the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] period was an instrument of the [[harp]] type, and more precisely of the [[List of musical instruments by Hornbostel–Sachs number: 322.11|arched harp]]. It was played with the strings kept parallel to the body of the player, with both hands plucking the strings, as shown on [[Samudragupta]]'s gold coins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://coinindia.com/galleries-samudragupta.html|title="The Coin Galleries: Gupta: Samudragupta"}}</ref> The Veena Cave at [[Udayagiri Caves|Udayagiri]] has one of the earliest visual depictions of a veena player, considered to be Samudragupta.

  | image1 = Saraswati.jpg

  |footer= The Hindu Goddess [[Saraswati]] has been pictured holding different veenas over the centuries. The oldest known Saraswati-like relief carvings are from [[Buddhist]] archaeological sites dated to 200 BCE, where she holds a harp-style veena.<ref name=ludvik227>{{cite book|author=Catherine Ludvík|title=Sarasvatī, Riverine Goddess of Knowledge: From the Manuscript-carrying Vīṇā-player to the Weapon-wielding Defender of the Dharma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4lsYKIXBOK0C&pg=PA227|year=2007|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-15814-6|pages=227–229}}</ref>

  | caption3 = Bangladesh, 10th-12th century C.E. Saraswati with an ''[[ālāpiṇī vīṇā]]''.

|alt4 = Saraswati Third Century AD with harp Veena

|caption4= Saraswati, 3rd century C.E. with harp-style veena. Variations included the ''chitra vīṇā'' with seven strings and ''[[vipanchi vīṇā]]'' with 9 strings. [[Chitra veena]] refers to another instrument today.

  | caption1 = Saraswati holding an [[Eka-tantri vina]], ca. 1000 C.E.

  |alt3 = Kinnari vina, 19th century C.E., from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

  |caption3 = ''[[Kinnari vina]]'', 19th century C.E., from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

* ''[[Saraswati veena]]'' is another fretted veena, and one highly revered in Indian traditions, particularly Hinduism. This is often pictured, shown as two resonators of different size. This is played by holding it at about a 45 degree angle across one's body, and the smaller gourd over the musician's left thigh. This instrument is related to an ancient instrument of South India, around the region now called [[Kerala]], where the ancient version is called Nanthuni or Nanduruni.<ref>{{cite book|author=Suneera Kasliwal|title=Classical musical instruments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVsUAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Rupa|isbn=978-81-291-0425-0|pages=117–118, 123}}</ref>

*''[[Bobbili Veena]]'', a specialized Saraswati veena, carved from a single piece of wood. Named for [[Bobbili]]

*''[[Chitra veena]]'', a modern 21-string fretless lute

*''[[Ancient veena|Chitra veena]], a 7-string arched harp, mainstream from ancient times until about the 5th century C.E.

* ''Kachapi veena''', now called ''Kachua sitar''.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|p=179}}

*''[[Kinnari veena]]'', one of three veena types mentioned in the [[Sangita Ratnakara]] (written 1210 - 1247 AD) by [[Śārṅgadeva]]. The other two mentioned were the ''Ālāpiṇī vīṇā'' and the ''Eka-tantri vina''. Tube zither with multiple gourds for resonators.<ref name=grovekinnari>{{cite encyclopedia |author = Alastair Dick |author2= Gordon Geekie |author3= Richard Widdess |editor-last= Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |entry= Vina, section 4 Medieval stick zithers|encyclopedia= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |year=1984 |id= Volume 3 |pages=729–730 |quote=}}</ref> In surviving museum examples, the center gourd is open where it presses against the player's chest, like the [[Kse diev]] or [[Ālāpiṇī vīṇā]].

* ''Mattakokila vīṇā'' (meaning "intoxicated cuckoo"), a 21-string instrument, mentioned in literature, type unproven. Possibly an [[ancient veena|arched harp]] or a [[board zither]].<ref name=grovekinnari/><ref name=grovematto>{{cite encyclopedia |author = |editor-last= Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |entry= Mattakokilā |encyclopedia= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |year=1984 |id= Volume 2 |page=623 |quote=}}</ref><ref name=grovesurman>{{cite encyclopedia |author = |editor-last= Sadie |editor-first=Stanley |entry= Surmandal|encyclopedia= The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments |year=1984 |id= Volume 3 |page=477 |quote= in...[[Sangita Ratnakara|Sangītaratnākara]], a chordophone with 21 strings...is mentioned...does not make it clear whether this was a board zither or even whether the author had actually seen one...may have been a...harp-vīnā...}}</ref>

*''[[Mohan veena]]''.

* Others such as ''[[Shatatantri veena]]'' (''[[Santoor]]''), ''Gayatri veena'' (with one string only) and [[Saptatantri veena]]

*''[[Ranjan veena]]''

*''[[Sagar veena]]''

* ''Saradiya veena'', now called ''[[Sarod]]''.{{Sfn|Caudhurī|2000|p=176}}

*''Thanjavur veena''

*''[[Triveni veena]]''

*{{cite journal|first=Natalia|last=Lidova|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |doi=10.1093/obo/9780195399318-0071 |title= Natyashastra}}