The gotuvadyam is a 20 or 21-string fretless lute-style veena in Carnatic music from around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, named by Sakha Rama Rao from Tiruvidaimarudur, who was responsible for bringing it back to the concert scene.
N. Ravikiran (center) playing the navachitravina.
The veena, also spelled vina, is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps. The many regional designs have different names such as the Rudra veena, the Saraswati veena, the Vichitra veena and others.
Plaque with a dancer and a veena (harp) player 1st century B.C.
Iranian style rubab from the 13th century C.E., found in Rayy (near Tehran, Iran).
Embekka Devalaya temple, Sri Lanka. A Kinnari holds an ālāpīni vīnī, a type of stick-zither with a half gourd used for the resonator.
Kinnara playing a yazh, Kailasanathar Temple in Kanchipuram, India, ca 8th century CE. In the Tamil tradition, the Tamil word for veena is yaaḻ (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.
