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title: 'What is a chitraveena?'
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date: '2026-10-19T15:11:05+00:00'
updated: '2026-10-19T22:11:16+00:00'
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summary: 'The chitraveena, or gottuvadyam, is a fretless Carnatic veena played with a slide, usually with 20 or 21 strings.'
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  FAQ · Instruments & artforms

# What is a chitraveena?

 Updated 19 October 2026

 The **[chitraveena](/instrument/chitraveena)**, also written chitravina and known as the gottuvadyam, is a fretless veena of Carnatic music. The left hand glides a cylindrical slide over the melody strings, and the right hand plucks with plectra on the index and middle fingers. Most modern instruments carry 20 or 21 strings: six melody, three drone-rhythm and 11 or 12 sympathetic strings.



 

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- [   Chitraveena The chitraveena (gottuvadyam) is a fretless Carnatic slide veena with 21 strings: a cylindrical slide gives continuous pitch and gamaka across the full…     ](/en-int/instrument/chitraveena)
 
  

 

 

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