Tā’ūs or Mayūrī (`Peacock vina') (cropped)

The taus, originally known as the mayuri veena, is a bowed string instrument from

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

. It is a form 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 ...

used in North India with a peacock-shaped resonator called a ''mayuri'', and is played with the neck of the instrument on bow. References to the mayuri veena have been found in ''Malavikagnimitra'', written by the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

poet

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

between the 4th to 5th centuries CE. The name ''taus'' is a Persian translation of the word 'peacock', or ''mayura'' in Sanskrit. It is believed that the taus was being played and adopted by for the Sikhs by

Guru Hargobind Gurū Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644), revered as the ''sixth Nānak'', was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of e ...

, the sixth Guru of the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...

Origin story

Bhai Avtar Singh, a well-known taus player and ragi who practiced the historic style of

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

, tells the story of the invention of the Taus in the following quote:

"The ''taus'' was conceived by and designed by the 6th Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji. ..The Guru and his Sikhs were singing outdoors under a tree enjoying God and nature. As was the old tradition, they were playing some string instruments. After a while, the musicians took a rest, and they leaned their instruments up against a tree. A peacock waddled into the group and he cried in the wailing sound that belongs only to the peacock. All of the stringed instruments resonated with the sound of the peacock cry, and the strings started humming. The sound was so ethereal and Guru Sahib liked that sound so much that he said, 'Let us design an instrument that sounds like this-- a combination of the resonation of all the string instruments and the plaintive cry of the peacock.' And that's how the ''taus'' was invented under the supervision of Guru Hargobind Ji." (who is the sixth Guru of the Sikhs)

Relation to dilruba and esraj

thumb , Mayuri, 1903. The

dilruba The dilruba (also spelt dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box. The dilruba holds particular importance in Sikh history. It became more widely k ...

originates from the taus and is the creation of the 10th

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

Guru,

Guru Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), born Gobind Das or Gobind Rai the tenth Sikh Guru, a spiritual master, warrior, poet and philosopher. When his father, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was executed by Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind Sin ...

. The dilruba was designed to be a compact version of the taus, making it more convenient for the

army to carry on horseback. The

esraj The (from the pa, ਇਸਰਾਜ) is an Indian stringed instrument found in two forms throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is a relatively recent instrument, being only about 300 years old. It is found in North India, primarily Punjab, whe ...

is a modern variant of the dilruba.

Construction

The Taus is an instrument whose identifying characteristic is the peacock shape of the body. It is played with a bow made of horse hair. There are four main strings which are above the metal frets, which are the main strings. Only one of these strings are played with the bow. There are a number of

sympathetic strings Sympathetic strings or resonance strings are auxiliary strings found on many Indian musical instruments, as well as some Western Baroque instruments and a variety of folk instruments. They are typically not played directly by the performer (excep ...

between the frets and the neck, which provide additional resonance. These are tuned according to the raag being played, in a similar manner to the

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 ...

References

External links

YouTube video - Ustaad Ranbir Singh Ji playing taus
{{Indian musical instruments Indian musical instruments String instruments Bowed instruments Sikh music