---
url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/how-old-is-the-rudra-veena'
title: 'How old is the rudra veena?'
author:
  name: rajeevk
  url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-in/user/0f961cccc99524ed'
date: '2026-10-19T19:01:01+00:00'
type: website
summary: 'Legend credits the sage Bharata with the rudra veena; its oldest known examples, from the 6th to the 10th century, have a single gourd resonator.'
tags:
  - 'Instruments & artforms'
image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg'
published: true
og:
  site_name: KalaSudha
  'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg'
  'image:secure_url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg'
  'image:type': image/svg+xml
  'image:alt': KalaSudha
---
  [  Help ](/en-in/help)     How old is the rudra veena?  

1. [  Home ](/en-in)
2. 
3. [ Help ](/en-in/help)
4. 
5. Instruments & artforms
6. 
7. How old is the rudra veena?
 
 

 

  FAQ · Instruments & artforms

# How old is the rudra veena?

 Updated 19 October 2026

 Tradition holds that the sage Bharata created the **[rudra veena](/instrument/rudra-veena)**, and that origin remains a legend. Alain Daniélou, in his UNESCO Collection notes, calls it the most ancient Indian fretted zither; its oldest known examples, from the 6th to 10th century, have one gourd. He adds that many 15th- and 16th-century paintings depict it. Today it belongs to dhrupad, carried by players of the Dagar and Khandarbani traditions.



 

 Was this answer helpful? [  ](/en-in/user/login?flag_anon=faq_helpful-1029&destination=/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/how-old-is-the-rudra-veena)

 [  ](/en-in/user/login?flag_anon=faq_not_helpful-1029&destination=/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/how-old-is-the-rudra-veena)

 

 Thanks for your feedback!

 

 ## Related pages

 1 page mentions this question

 

 ###  Instruments (1) 

- [   Rudra Veena The rudra veena, or bin, is the dhrupad veena: a bamboo or teak tube with two gourd resonators, four main strings and fixed brass frets. It carries slow alap…     ](/en-in/instrument/rudra-veena)
 
  

 

 

   [     Previous question How old is the morsing?  ](/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/how-old-is-the-morsing) [  Next question How old is the sarangi?     ](/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/how-old-is-the-sarangi)