--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena' title: 'Rudra Veena' author: name: rajeevk url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-pk/user/4add8741a490747f' date: '2026-06-20T23:15:15+00:00' updated: '2026-11-06T00:28:51+00:00' type: product summary: '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…' tags: - Chordophones - 'Rudra Veena' image: 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/rudra-veena-365.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f115944f4c245fab2_d20261105_m220816_c003_v0312025_t0031_u01793916496769&h=00546c34&itok=9PsaBPTC' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/rudra-veena-365.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f115944f4c245fab2_d20261105_m220816_c003_v0312025_t0031_u01793916496769&h=00546c34&itok=9PsaBPTC' 'image:secure_url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/mcp-imported/rudra-veena-365.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f115944f4c245fab2_d20261105_m220816_c003_v0312025_t0031_u01793916496769&h=00546c34&itok=9PsaBPTC' 'image:type': image/jpeg 'image:width': '1200' 'image:height': '675' 'image:alt': 'Rudra veena: long fretted tube on two large gourd resonators' --- Hindustani instrument · Stick zither # Rudra Veenaरुद्र वीणा The rudra veena, or bin, is a plucked stick zither: a hollow tube with frets and two gourd resonators, closely associated with dhrupad. [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) [Learn the rudra veena ](#learn) ## Buy from KalaSudha From £800 - Sold by quote or made to order - Packed for shipping and delivered worldwide - Serviced and repaired by us, wherever you bought it FamilyStick zither Strings4 main, 3 drone ResonatorsTwo large gourds OriginNorth India Buy from us ## Choose your rudra veena [Ask about a custom order ](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) - Student ### Student rudra veena From £800 Student rudra veenas come from specialist Indian workshops. [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) - Intermediate ### Intermediate rudra veena £1,500 to £2,500 Intermediate instruments have better gourds and bridge work. [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) - Concert ### Concert rudra veena £5,000 or more Concert instruments are built to order by senior makers in Varanasi or Miraj. [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) ### What to look for First choose the design: the traditional northern instrument, or Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's heavier one, with enlarged gourds and tube. Larger gourds resonate deeper but weigh more, and choosing gourds of even wall without cracks takes the maker the most time. Check the joints where the gourds meet the tube, the instrument's structural weak point. Student rudra veenas come from specialist Indian workshops; intermediate instruments have better gourds and bridge work, and concert instruments are built to order by senior makers in Varanasi or Miraj. The bone or deer-horn jawari bridge is filed for hours to balance buzz and sustain. Check older instruments for ivory. Ask us for a quote, or for a rudra veena made to order. ### After you buy Delivered worldwideWe pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. Service and repairWe service and repair any rudra veena, wherever you bought it, worldwide: ask us. Strings, parts and casesAsk us for strings, spare parts and cases, and about a size for a younger learner. Help with your instrumentAsk us through the chat on any page, or by email, for help with your instrument. Gifts, schools and travelAsk us about gift vouchers, class sets for schools, and flight cases and travel help. Read the rudra veena care guide - The two large **gourds** are the most fragile part of the instrument. Store the rudra veena in a padded hard case with both gourds supported and cushioned; never rest the instrument on a hard surface without padding under the gourds. Avoid rapid humidity changes: a dried gourd that loses moisture too fast can crack along its natural seam. In dry conditions (below 40% RH), place a small open container of water inside the closed case to raise local humidity. Do not expose either gourd to direct heat or direct sunlight. - The brass **frets** are set with wax rather than tied thread. Check before each performance that no fret has shifted or loosened; a loose fret produces a rattling buzz that masks the jawari tone. If a fret rocks under finger pressure, re-seat it with instrument wax (or dark beeswax) by warming the wax and pressing the fret arch down with firm pressure until cool. Keep a small block of wax in the case for field repairs. Do not use adhesives: wax allows the fret to be repositioned or removed without damaging the tube. - The bone or deer-horn bridge produces the veena's characteristic **jawari** buzz. Do not sand or file the bridge without our guidance; even a small change to the bridge profile alters the jawari balance. If the buzz disappears or turns harsh, bring it to us. During transport, wrap the string-crossing point with soft cloth to prevent the bridge from moving under the strings and shifting the jawari profile. - Tune the **strings** with a peg key before each session. The heavy main strings are susceptible to humidity-related pitch drift; allow the instrument 10–15 minutes to acclimatise in a new environment before tuning for performance. Replace strings that show corrosion, kinking or loss of brightness; replace the full main string set together to keep bridge tension balanced. Drone strings break more often than main strings; keep a full spare set of each gauge in the case. - The **joint** between the bamboo or teak tube and the gourd attachments is the instrument's structural weak point. Inspect the thread binding at each gourd attachment once a year; fraying thread or any movement of the gourd relative to the tube needs repair before the joint fails. Keep the instrument away from temperature extremes that cause the tube and gourds to expand and contract at different rates. If the tube shows any longitudinal cracking, send the instrument to us before the crack reaches the fret zone. KalaSudha Academy ## Learn the rudra veena with us [All courses ](/en-pk/courses) You can learn the rudra veena with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and beginners start at Foundation level. Foundation teaches the traditional posture, one gourd on the left shoulder and the other on the right thigh, and slow single strokes with the mizrab. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a size for a younger learner. Players returning after a long break start again where they left off. Our courses run in levels, and your teacher reviews where you stand first. [Ask about learning the rudra veena](/en-pk/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=365) ### Your route, stage by stage 1. 1 Posture and mizrab grip Beginners start here, at Foundation, the first level of KalaSudha's courses. Learn the traditional posture, the instrument diagonal with the upper gourd on the left shoulder and the lower on the right thigh, or the sukhasan posture with one gourd on the floor, as your lineage teaches. Wear the mizrab and play single downstrokes very slowly, hearing each note's full decay and jawari. Build the strength to hold steady through a long alap. 2. 2 Fixed-fret navigation and meend Learn the positions of the 21 to 24 frets for a first raga. Then build meend: push the string sideways across a high fixed brass fret, with real force on the heavy strings, reaching a minor third and beyond, towards a full fifth, in one glide while the jawari sustains. 3. 3 Alap structure in dhrupad-ang style Study the dhrupad approach to alap: begin in the lower octave with single notes and short phrases, bring in each note as the raga allows and expand towards the upper octave over 30 to 60 minutes. Let each phrase settle and resonate before the next; on so sustained an instrument, crowded phrasing sounds like clutter. 4. 4 Jor, jhala and gamak After alap, add jor, a steady pulse from the mizrab without a fixed tala. Build gamak, the rapid oscillation of a note between fret and meend that gives dhrupad on the veena its heavy ornament, then jhala, fast alternating strokes between main string and chikari, building speed in small steps. 5. 5 Raga repertoire and concert practice Build repertoire in ragas suited to the bass register and fixed-fret meend: Bhairav, Yaman, Darbari Kanada, Malkauns and Lalit. Practise complete alap, jor and jhala, then a bandish in chautal or dhamar with pakhawaj. Study recordings by Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Asad Ali Khan. The instrument ## About the rudra veena ### What makes a rudra veena ### What is the rudra veena? The **rudra veena**, or **bin**, is the plucked stick zither of **dhrupad**, one of the oldest string instruments still played in North India, and ours suits the dhrupad student and the specialist. The name means "the veena of Rudra", a form of Shiva. A hollow tube of bamboo or teak carries 21 to 24 high brass frets set in wax, four main strings and three chikari drones, with two large gourd resonators. ### What makes a great one The high frets allow **meend**, a sideways pull that raises a note by a minor third or more, up to a fifth. A bone or deer-horn bridge gives the jawari buzz, and the gourds and long scale give a deep, room-filling sustain in the lower two octaves. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar enlarged the gourds and tube, so players now choose between the traditional northern design and his heavier one. In the traditional posture the instrument lies diagonally, one gourd on the left shoulder, the other on the right thigh. ### How it is played A recital is mostly **alap**, the slow, unaccompanied unfolding of a raga, often an hour or more, then jor and jhala, with [pakhawaj](/en-pk/instrument/pakhawaj) joining for a bandish in chautal, dhamar or tivra. Chikari strokes between phrases hold tonic and fifth, and gamak gives a heavy pulse in the low strings. Asad Ali Khan's students and the Dagar family play it; outside dhrupad circles it is rare. ### History Rudra veenas appear in Sanskrit music texts from about the 10th century among the most prestigious plucked instruments, sacred to Rudra in theory, though its practice grew in the medieval courts. Under Mughal patronage it became the main carrier of dhrupad, slow, modal and rooted in raga. The **Senia gharana**, named for Tansen (c. 1500–1589), Akbar's court musician, set its central teaching line in the 16th century; tradition credits Tansen with command of the instrument alongside his singing. His descendants and disciples carried it through the 17th and 18th centuries, and Dabir Khan's family into the 20th. Veena traditions also lived at the Jaipur and Rampur courts. **Zia Mohiuddin Dagar** (1929–1990) trained with his father, Nasir Moinuddin Dagar, and brought the rudra veena back from near oblivion, with concerts of two to three hours, half of them alap, long even for dhrupad. His recordings of the 1970s and 1980s, many for All India Radio and later released, are still studied. **Asad Ali Khan** (1937–2011) of the Beenkar gharana of Jaipur, the other leading 20th-century player, kept a parallel line. Bahauddin Dagar continues the Dagar line, and students of both lines perform and teach in India and abroad. How a rudra veena is made The body, the **dandi**, is a hollow tube of **bamboo** or, on newer ones, seasoned teak or rosewood, 120–130 cm long, whose hollow carries vibration from the bridge to the gourds. Two large dried gourds, the **tumba**, sit below it, bound with lacquered thread on traditional instruments and with a ring, washer and nut on some others. Larger gourds resonate deeper but weigh more, and choosing gourds of even wall without cracks takes the most time. The 21 to 24 frets, the **parda**, are brass plates on curved wooden bases set in wax, 24 on most concert models. Fixed frets cannot move for each raga but let the string be pushed further. Four heavy main strings and three chikari run from a bone nut to the tailpiece over a bone or deer-horn **jawari** bridge. The maker files it for hours to balance buzz and sustain, and redoes it with every new bridge and whenever a new string gauge differs. The mizrab is a thick bone or metal ring worn on the index finger, larger than a sitar's, with a wide flat tip for the heavier strings. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar enlarged the gourds and tube with Kanailal & Brother, Kolkata. ### At a glance Primary materialBamboo or teak tube with two large gourd resonators String system4 main strings, 3 drone strings (chikari) Playing methodDiagonal across the body; mizrab on the index finger; fixed brass frets SpecialityDhrupad alap; wide meend (pitch glide) of up to a fifth TraditionHindustani classical (dhrupad; Senia and Dagar gharanas) Key figureZia Mohiuddin Dagar Full specifications #### Physical dimensions Total instrument length120–130 cm Gourd diameter22–30 cm per gourd Tube diameter4–6 cm Fret count21–24 (24 fixed brass arches on most concert instruments) Weight3–5 kg #### Body & construction Tube materialBamboo (traditional) or teak or rosewood (modern) ResonatorsTwo large dried gourds (tumba), one at each end Fret materialThick brass arches on curved wooden bases, set with wax into the tube Nut and tailpieceBone nut at the upper end; metal tailpiece at the lower end FinishLacquered thread binding at the gourd joints; polished tube #### String system Main playing strings4 (heavy-gauge steel or steel-wound bronze) Drone strings (chikari)3 Total strings7 (8 with a separate laraj drone) String scale lengthApprox. 90–100 cm (nut to bridge) BridgeBone or deer-horn jawari bridge #### Playing equipment Plectrum nameMizrab Plectrum materialBone or wire-wound metal ring with a wide striking tip; traditional plectra on the first and second fingers Right-hand techniqueDownstroke (da) dominant; upstroke (ra) in jhala; little finger strums the chikari Left-hand techniqueFingertip press behind the fret; sideways meend push up to a fifth Playing positionDiagonal: upper gourd on the left shoulder, lower on the right thigh; in sukhasan one gourd rests on the floor #### Acoustic characteristics Tonal characterDeep bass with jawari buzz and long sustain SustainLong (large gourd volume and fixed-tube resonance) Optimal useDhrupad-ang alap in lower and middle octaves Dynamic rangeSoft to full bass projection ProjectionMedium (concert room; lower than amplified stage instruments) Explore the music ## Hear the rudra veena Hear KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-pk/releases) and [concert videos](/en-pk/videos). ### Players Ask us to book a rudra veena player for a concert, event or recording. [Book a rudra veena player ](/en-pk/book-indian-classical-musicians) Keep exploring ## More around the rudra veena - [ Discipline Rudra Veena Join fretted notes with a sideways string pull (meend) inside raga phrases. ](/en-pk/instrumental/hindustani-classical/rudra-veena) Questions ## Rudra Veena: common questions Buying, learning, care and the instrument itself. ### What is a rudra veena? The **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)**, called the bin or been in North India, is a plucked stick zither of Hindustani music. A hollow tube of bamboo or teak carries the frets and strings, with two calabash gourd resonators beneath. It has four melody strings and three chikari drone strings. The Met notes that it appears routinely in ragamala paintings and is closely associated with dhrupad. In the style of Asad Ali Khan and the Dagar family, the melody strings run Ma, Sa, a lower Pa and a lower Sa, and the chikari sound Sa in two higher octaves. ### How do I start learning the rudra veena? You can learn the [rudra veena](/en-pk/instrumental/hindustani-classical/rudra-veena) with KalaSudha online and in workshops, and beginners start at **Foundation** level. Foundation teaches the traditional posture, one gourd on the left shoulder and the other on the right thigh, and slow single strokes with the mizrab. Children learn with us as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a size for a younger learner. Players returning after a long break start again where they left off. Our [courses](/en-pk/courses) run in levels, and your teacher reviews where you stand first. ### Where can I buy a rudra veena outside India? KalaSudha sells the rudra veena to players outside India, by quote or made to order, and delivers worldwide. We pack each instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. We service and repair any rudra veena, wherever you bought it, in any country. Strings and spare parts are available from us too. For help with your instrument after the sale, ask us through the chat on any page or at . You can also ask us about gift vouchers, class sets for schools and flight cases for travel. ### How big is a rudra veena? Museum examples of the **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)** measure 125 to 143.5 cm overall, and the gourd resonators are about 34 to 37 cm across. One instrument in Berlin weighs 3.5 kg. The design of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar is larger: he enlarged the gourds and the hollow tube to gain resonance and longer sustain. ### Where are rudra veenas made? The documented 20th-century centre of **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)** making is Kolkata. There the firm Kanailal & Brother built instruments to Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's enlarged design, and the maker Murari Adhikari (1934 to 2006) was co-designer of the enlarged instrument in the 1960s. The Horniman Museum holds a Kanailal & Brother instrument of about 1960 to 1980. ### What does the name rudra veena mean? The name **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)**, or rudra vina, means "the veena of Rudra", and Rudra is an epithet of Shiva. In North India the instrument is called the bin, also spelt been. Organologists class it as a stick zither, and the Met notes that it appears routinely in ragamala paintings, closely associated with dhrupad. ### How do you hold a rudra veena? Players hold the **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)** at a slant in front of the chest, with one gourd resting on the left shoulder and the other on the right knee, as Alain Daniélou describes in his notes for the UNESCO Collection. The two gourd resonators hang beneath the neck on metal tubes. The right hand plucks the strings with steel picks worn on the index, middle and little fingers. ### Who are the best-known rudra veena players? Darbar names Asad Ali Khan and Zia Mohiuddin Dagar as the masters who kept the **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)**'s legacy alive, within the Khandarbani and Dagar traditions of dhrupad. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar's son, Mohi Bahauddin Dagar, is widely recognised as a virtuoso of the instrument and received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 2012. Darbar also names Jyoti Hegde as one of the few women to master it. ### How old is the rudra veena? Tradition holds that the sage Bharata created the **[rudra veena](/en-pk/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. ### How does the rudra veena differ from the Saraswati veena? The **[rudra veena](/en-pk/instrument/rudra-veena)** of Hindustani music is a stick zither: a hollow tube with two large gourd resonators beneath it. The Saraswati veena of Carnatic music is a long-necked lute with fixed frets, its 24 frets set into a ridge of beeswax on the neck. The rudra veena is closely associated with dhrupad and is plucked with a wire plectrum on metal frets. ### Can I book a rudra veena player for a concert, event or recording? You can book a rudra veena player through KalaSudha for a concert, event or recording. A rudra veena recital is mostly alap, often an hour or more, and pakhawaj may join for a composition. Ask us through our page to [book Indian classical musicians](/en-pk/book-indian-classical-musicians), and hear our artists in KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-pk/releases) and [concert videos](/en-pk/videos). ### How is a rudra veena strung and tuned? A **rudra veena** carries four heavy main strings and three chikari drones, with a separate laraj drone on some instruments. The main strings take ma a fifth below the tonic, then sa, pa and upper sa, around a movable tonic: for example D2, A2, E3 and A3. The chikari strings sound the tonic and fifth, and the player strums them with the little finger between phrases. Each session starts with a peg key, after 10 to 15 minutes for the strings to settle in a new room. ### Still have questions? Our support team can help you find the right answer. [Contact support](/en-pk/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=365) Talk to us ## Tell us about the rudra veena you want Ask for a quote on an instrument made to order, or about learning to play it with our teachers. [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365) [Ask about learning](/en-pk/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=365) Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. Receive news of concerts, learning opportunities, recordings and the work taking shape at KalaSudha. - Concert news - ·Learning opportunities - ·Recordings and stories We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Buy a rudra veena from KalaSudha [Ask for a quote](/en-pk/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=365)