The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra vina'')—also called ''Bīn'' in North India—is a large plucked string instrument used in

Hindustani Music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

, especially

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South In ...

. It is one of the major types of ''

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...

'' played in Indian classical music, notable for its deep bass resonance. The rudra veena is mentioned in court records as early as the reign of Zain-ul Abidin (1418-1470), and attained particular importance among Mughal court musicians. Before

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

, rudra veena players, as dhrupad practitioners, were supported by the

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

; after Independence and the

political integration of India After the Indian independence in 1947, the dominion of India was divided into two sets of territories, one under direct British rule, and the other under the suzerainty of the British Crown, with control over their internal affairs remainin ...

, this traditional patronage system ended. With the end of this traditional support, dhrupad's popularity in India declined, as did the popularity of the rudra veena. However, in recent years, the rudra veena has seen a resurgence in popularity, driven at least partly by interest among non-Indian practitioners.

Names and etymology

The name "rudra veena" comes from

Rudra Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Ru ...

, a name for the Lord

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

; ''rudra vina'' means "the veena of Shiva" (compare

Saraswati veena The Sarasvatī vīṇa (also spelled Saraswati vina) (Devanagari: सरस्वती वीणा (vīṇā), te, సరస్వతి వీణ, kan, ಸರಸ್ವತಿ ವೀಣೆ, ta, சரஸ்வதி வீணை, Malayalam ...

). According to oral tradition, Shiva created the rudra vina, with the two ''tumba''

resonator A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...

gourds representing the breasts of either his wife

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

or the goddess of arts and learning

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

, and the long ''dandi'' tube as the ''merudanda'', both the human spine and the cosmic axis. The length of the fretted area of the ''dandi'' is traditionally given as nine fists—the distance from the navel to the top of the skull. However it is strongly believed that Shiva created the rudra veena for the entertainment of the other gods as Shiva always enjoyed dancing and singing. Another explanation is that the

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

is said to have invented the rudra veena; inspired as he was with his devotion to Lord Shiva, or Rudra, he named the instrument Rudra veena. The North Indian vernacular name "bīn" (sometimes written "bīṇ") is derived from the preexisting root "veena," the term generally used today to refer to a number of South Asian stringed instruments. While the origins of "veena" are obscure, one possible derivation is from a pre-Aryan root meaning "bamboo" (possibly Dravidian, as in the Tamil veṟam, "cane," or South Indian bamboo flute, the

venu The ''venu'' (Sanskrit: ; /मुरळि; ''muraļi'') is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the ...

), a reference to early stick or tube zithers—as seen in the modern bīn, whose central ''dandi'' tube is still sometimes made from bamboo.

Form and construction

The rudra veena is classified either as a

stick zither Bar zither is class of musical instruments (subset of zither) within the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system for a type of simple chordophone (stringed instrument), in which the body of the instrument is shaped like a bar. In the system, bar ...

tube zither The tube zither is a stringed musical instrument in which a tube functions both as an instrument's neck and its soundbox. As the neck, it holds strings taut and allows them to vibrate. As a soundbox or it modifies the sound and transfers it to ...

in the Sachs-Hornbostel classification system. The veena's body (''dandi'') is a tube of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

between 137 to 158 cm (54 to 62 inches) long, attached to two large ''tumba''

resonators A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a resonator ...

made from

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

gourds. The ''tumba''s on a rudra veena are around 34 to 37 cm (13 to 15 inches) in diameter; while veena players once attached ''tumba''s to the ''dandi'' with leather thongs, modern instruments use brass screw tubes to attach the ''tumba''s. Traditionally, the bottom end of the ''dandi'', where the strings attach below the bridge (''jawari''), is finished with a peacock carving. This peacock carving is hollow, to enhance the resonance of the instrument.Koch, Lars-Christian (direction). ''Rudra vina: der Bau eines nordindischen Saiteninstruments in der Tradition von Kanailal & Bros'' 'Rudra veena: manufacturing of an Indian string instrument in the tradition of Kanailal & Bros''(DVD) (in English with German and English subtitles). Berlin: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. 2007. OCLC 662735435. This hollow opens into the tube of the ''dandi'', and is covered directly by the main ''jawari''. The other end of the instrument, holding most or all of the pegs, is finished with a carved

makara ''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...

. Like the peacock at the other end and the ''dandi'' tube connecting them, the makara

pegbox A variety of methods are used to tune different stringed instruments. Most change the pitch produced when the string is played by adjusting the tension of the strings. A tuning peg in a pegbox is perhaps the most common system. A peg has ...

is also hollow. Rudraveena

The rudra veena has twenty-one to twenty-four moveable frets (''parda'') on top of the ''dandi''. These frets are made of thin plates of brass with flat tops but curved wooden bases to match the shape of the ''dandi'', each about two to four centimeters (0.75-1.5 inches) high. While these frets were once attached to the instrument with wax, contemporary veena players use waxed flax ties to attach the frets. This allows for players to adjust the frets to the individual microtones ('' shruti'') of a raga. By pulling the string up or down alongside the fret, the veena player can bend the pitch (

meend In Hindustani music, meend (Hindi: मीण्ड, ur, ) refers to a glide from one note to another. It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the veena, sitar, sarangi and other plucked str ...

) by as much as a fifth. A modern rudra veena has a total of seven or eight strings: four main melody strings, two or three ''chikari'' strings (which are used in rhythmic sections of the rag to delineate or emphasize the pulse, or taal), and one drone (''laraj'') string. These strings are made of steel or bronze, and run from the pegs (and over the nut if coming from the pegbox) down to the peacock, passing over the ''jawari'' near the peacock. A rudra veena will have three ''jawari''; a main one covering an opening on the hollow peacock, and two smaller ones on the sides of the peacock, supporting the ''chikari'' and drone strings. These ''jawari'' and other strings supports are traditionally made of Sambar stag antler; however, India has banned trade in Sambar deer antler since 1995, due to the deer's declining population and vulnerable status. Strings are tuned by turning the ebony pegs to tighten or loosen the strings; the antler string supports can be moved for fine tuning. Unlike European stringed instruments, where strings are almost always tuned to the same notes on all instruments—a modern

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...

, for example, will usually have its open strings tuned to C₂ (two octaves below middle C), followed by G₂, D₃, and then A₃—the rudra veena follows Hindustani classical practice of a movable root note or tonic ( moveable do). The four melody strings are tuned to the '' ma'' a fifth below the tonic; the tonic (''sa''); the ''pa'' a fifth above the tonic; and the ''sa'' an octave above the tonic. Thus, if the lowest ''ma'' string was tuned to D₂, then the four melody strings would be tuned to D₂, A₂, E₃, and A₃; if the lowest ''ma'' string was instead tuned to B♭₁, then the four melody strings would be tuned to B♭₁, F₂, C₃, and F₃

History

It is an ancient instrument rarely played today. The ''rudra veena'' declined in popularity in part due to the introduction in the early 19th century of the ''

surbahar ''Surbahar'' (; ) sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to the sitar, but has a lower pitch. Depending on the instrument's size, it ...

'', which allowed

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

ists to more easily present the '' alap'' sections of slow ''

''-style ragas. In the 20th century,

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28 September 1990), popularly known as Z. M. Dagar, was a North Indian ( Hindustani) classical musician, one of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was largely responsible for the ...

modified and redesigned the rudra veena to use bigger gourds, a thicker tube (''dandi''), thicker steel playing strings (0.45-0.47 mm) and closed ''javari that''. This produced a soft and deep sound when plucked without the use of any

plectrum A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harps ...

(''mizrab''). The instrument was further modified as the shruti veena by Lalmani Misra to establish Bharat's ''Shadja Gram'' and obtain the 22 ''shruti''s.

Gallery

File:Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam si0563.jpg, Maiden playing the vina. Venugopala Shrine of Ranganatha Temple,

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

. Early 17th century. File:Work of Ustad Mansur, British Museum.jpg, Ca. 1605. Portrait of

Naubat Khan Naubat Khan (also known as Ali Khan Karori) was an Indian classical music composer, musician and instrumentalist who was made a Mansabdar by Mughal Emperor Akbar. He is known today for his skills with the ''rudra veena'' or ''bīn'', which he is s ...

Ustad Mansur Ustad Mansur (flourished 1590-1624) was a seventeenth-century Mughal painter and court artist. He grew up during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605 - 1627) during which period he excelled at depicting plants and animals. He was the earliest artist t ...

, Mughal School ca. 1605,

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, London. The instrument is depicted with two strings. File:Naubat Khan Kalawant inscribed.Museum of Fine Arts Boston.jpg, Naubat Khan Kalawant playing a three-stringed rudra veena. File:Cropped image from Kedar Ragini, painting by Ruknuddin 1690-1695.jpg, 1690-1696 C.E. Man playing rudra veena File:Saraswati with bīn on white bird.jpg, Ca. 1700. Saraswati riding a white bird and holding a northern style bīn (rudra vīnā). The instrument is depicted with four strings. File:Frans Balthazar Solvyns, "Qaplious ou bin, instrument de musique hindou", from "Illustrations de Les Hindous", volume 2 plate 23.jpg, 1808-1812. Illustration of a bīn, labeled "qaplious". At the time, the instrument illustrated was fretless; similar to the

pinaka vina The ''pināka vīnā'' ( hi, पिनाक pinnak + hi, वीणा veena) was an Indian musical instrument, a musical bow that was itself played with a Bow (music), bow. It has also been transliterated ''pinaki vina'' and ''pinak''. It ap ...

, it used a stick to slide on the string and chose notes. File:Miyan Himmat Khan Kalawant playing a bin, page from the Tasrih al-aqvam, by Ghulam Ali Khan.png, 1825. Miyan Himmat Khan Kalawant playing a bin, page from the Tasrih al-aqvam. The bin has four main strings that could be fretted and two side strings. File:A Bin Player, by William Gibb, from Music and Musical Instruments of India and the Deccan by C R Day.jpg, 1891. ''A Bin Player'', by William Gibb. The instrument depicted had four main strings that could be fretted and three side strings. File:Bird on rudra veena, string holder, Metropolitan Museum of Art.png, Bird on rudra veena, string holder. File:Swami parvatikar playing rudra veena (14170870218).jpg, Veena Maharaj

Dattatreya Rama Rao Parvatikar Dattatreya Rama Rao Parvatikar ( sa, दत्तात्रेय राम राव् पर्वतिकर्, ) 916-1990 was a Hindu saint and sanyasi in India. Spiritual life Dattatreya Parvatikar lived in the premises of Badrinath ...

(1916-1990) playing the Rudra veena File:Asad Ali Khan.jpg, Ustad Asad Ali Khan playing the Rudra veena in traditional style File:Dagar.ogv, Video. A rudra veena or bīn is played by Mohi Baha'ud-din Dagar in dagarbani style.

References

External links