Taus
(ताउस)The taus is a bowed, fretted lute with a peacock-shaped carved wooden body, used in Sikh Gurbani kirtan. Sikh tradition credits Guru Hargobind with creating it in the 17th century.
£500 - £4,000
Student taus from Punjab workshops start around £500; mid-range instruments with better carving, tighter goatskin and more sympathetic strings cost £1,000 to £2,000; concert-grade instruments by specialist makers in Amritsar and Ludhiana cost £2,500 to £4,000. Check the frets, skin and sympathetic strings before you buy.
Explore the discipline
Meet the musical tradition, its practitioners and ways to learn.
History & Origins
What is the taus?
The taus, or mayuri veena, is the bowed, fretted peacock lute of Punjab and Sikh Gurbani kirtan, and ours suits the kirtan student and the ragi. Taus is Persian for peacock, and its carved wooden body takes the bird's form, with a goatskin soundboard, warmer and more resonant than wood. Four main strings, two or three chikari and 13 to 17 sympathetic strings ring under the horsehair bow for a layered, resonant sound.
What makes a great taus
Makers carve concert instruments in teak or sheesham, broader than the esraj or dilruba. The taus has more volume and a lower range, enough to carry over voices and percussion in a large gurdwara without amplification. Tied metal frets let the player pull a note into meend and shape gamak under the bow. It takes the body of the sarangi and the neck and frets of the sitar.
In kirtan
The player sits on the floor with the taus on the ground and its top against the left shoulder. Sikh tradition credits Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, with creating it, and the Hazoori Ragis of Darbar Sahib in Amritsar have played it for centuries, in the ragas the Guru Granth Sahib assigns to each shabad. The dilruba and later the harmonium displaced it in most kirtan; Avtar Singh, Gurcharan Singh and the Gurmat Sangeet revival brought it back.
Sikh tradition credits the taus to Guru Hargobind (1595–1644), the sixth Guru, as part of giving Sikh practice a regal and martial dimension beside the spiritual. Guru Gobind Singh is also named, and Inderjit N. Kaur writes that its history still needs research. The peacock was a royal bird in Mughal and Sikh courts, and the taus draws on Mughal bowed lutes.
It spread through Punjab's gurdwaras in the 17th and 18th centuries. Tradition credits Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708) with the lighter dilruba for musicians riding with the Khalsa, and it replaced the taus in many ensembles. The taus stayed with the Hazoori Ragis at Darbar Sahib and other fixed shrines, where weight did not matter. It also accompanied courtly nautch, and by the early to mid-20th century the harmonium had displaced it in most kirtan.
Avtar Singh and Gurcharan Singh revived it on record, and the Gurmat Sangeet movement, including Baldeep Singh, trains new players, among them Kirpal Panesar and Sandeep Singh. A few specialist makers in Amritsar and Ludhiana build it today, and Delhi workshops make student instruments.
Construction & Craftsmanship
Construction Process
The body is carved from a single piece of teak or sheesham into a peacock, the bird's body the resonator and the neck rising from its head. It runs 42–52 cm long and 28–36 cm wide, more volume than an esraj or dilruba. A goatskin membrane, bound at the edges, covers the open face as the soundboard and gives its warm, carrying tone. Decoration rises with price, from simple lines to carved feathers, paint and inlay from makers in Amritsar and Ludhiana.
The 35–40 cm neck carries 28 to 30 movable metal frets, brass on some, tied with gut or nylon, a wider upper register than the esraj's 19 to 22. Four main strings run peg to tailpiece, with chikari beside them, and 13 to 17 sympathetic strings pass through the bridge below, tuned to the raga. A bone or horn jawari bridge is filed by the maker for buzz and clarity.
The bow, the gaz, is pernambuco, brazilwood or carbon fibre with white horsehair, 55–65 cm. It follows a wider arc to clear the broad body, and players hold the taus more upright to keep the bow hair square to the string.
Maintenance & Care
- Apply fresh rosin to the bow hair before each session and wipe it clean after playing. Re-hair the gaz every six to twelve months depending on frequency of use; loose or sticky hair reduces tone quality.
- Keep the goatskin soundboard away from direct heat, air-conditioning vents and rapid humidity changes. Goatskin tightens and cracks in very dry air (below 40% RH) and goes slack at high humidity (above 65% RH). Store in a padded case in a stable room.
- Inspect the tied frets each month for wear, slippage and uneven height. Re-tie a fret that has shifted; replace worn fret material with fresh gut or nylon cord before dents deepen enough to cause buzzing or intonation problems.
- Wipe the main and chikari strings with a dry cloth after playing to remove sweat and rosin dust. Replace main strings when tone goes dull or a string develops a kink. Re-tune taraf strings after each main string change as the tension balance shifts.
- The peacock-carved body is more vulnerable to impact than a tubular body. Never rest the instrument face-down. Clean the carved wood with a soft cloth; apply light linseed or teak oil to the body once or twice a year to maintain wood moisture and prevent surface cracking.
Technical Specifications
Detailed specifications for the Taus
Physical dimensions
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Total instrument length | 78–88 cm |
| Body length | 42–52 cm |
| Body width (max) | 28–36 cm |
| Neck length | 35–40 cm |
| Weight | 2.0–3.2 kg |
Body & construction
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Body material | Carved teak or sheesham (Indian rosewood); painted and lacquered on historical examples |
| Soundboard | Goatskin membrane stretched over the carved front face |
| Fret type | Movable metal frets (brass on one museum example), tied with gut or nylon |
| Fret count | 28–30 |
| Body shape | Peacock form carved from teak or sheesham, with carved wings, legs and beak |
String system
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Main playing strings | 4 (steel or steel-wound) |
| Drone strings (chikari) | 2–3 |
| Sympathetic strings (taraf) | 13–17 |
| Total strings | 19–22 |
| Bridge | Bone or horn jawari bridge (curved ivory on one 19th-century example) |
Playing equipment
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Bow name | Gaz (horsehair bow) |
| Bow length | 55–65 cm |
| Rosin type | Standard violin or cello rosin |
| Right-hand technique | Down-bow and up-bow from the frog, with a wider arc to clear the carved body |
| Playing position | Seated on the floor; instrument on the ground, top against the left shoulder |
Acoustic characteristics
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Tonal character | Warm, deep and resonant; fuller volume than the esraj or dilruba, close to the sarangi |
| Sustain | Medium-long with taraf sympathetic resonance |
| Optimal use | Gurbani Kirtan and raga-based devotional music; 19th-century court nautch accompaniment |
| Dynamic range | Soft (alap) to full projection for congregational settings |
| Projection | Medium-high; carries over vocalists and percussion in large temple spaces |
Available Instruments
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Contact for Custom OrderYour Journey to Taus Mastery
Follow this structured path from absolute beginner to accomplished performer
Bow hold and posture
At KalaSudha, beginners start here, at the Foundation level of our courses. Sit on the floor with the taus resting on the ground and its top against the left shoulder, as with the dilruba. Hold the bow at the frog and draw even strokes from end to end on the main string, developing the right-arm arc that clears the wide carved body.
Left-hand position and fret work
Meend and gamak
Gurbani kirtan repertoire
Raga performance and concert practice
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the taus, the peacock-shaped bowed instrument?
The taus is a bowed, fretted long-necked lute that emerged from the Punjab region. Its wooden resonator, covered with a skin membrane, is carved as a peacock, with wings, legs, beak and real feathers at the tail, and a horsehair bow sounds its metal strings. It accompanied courtly nautch dance and is associated with Sikh devotional music.
How can a beginner, a child or a kirtan player returning after a long break start learning the taus?
KalaSudha teaches the taus online and in workshops, and beginners start at Foundation level. You sit on the floor with the taus against your left shoulder and learn even strokes along the whole bow on the main string. Children learn with us as well as adults; ask us about a starting age and about a size for a younger learner.
A long break need not send you back to the beginning. Our courses run in levels, so your teacher reviews where you stand and you start again where you left off.
How long is a taus?
Five 19th-century taus examples in museums measure about 97 to 118 cm overall. They measure 103.5 cm at the V&A, 115.5 cm at the Met and 118 cm in Edinburgh and Würzburg. The resonator is small and shallow: 166 mm wide on the Edinburgh example, and 13 to 15 cm deep on the V&A and Met instruments.
What materials is a taus made from?
A taus has a wooden resonator covered with a skin membrane, metal strings and metal frets. The body is carved from a single piece of wood and topped with goatskin. Museum examples are painted and lacquered, with carved wings, legs and beak, bone or ivory inlay, and real peacock feathers at the tail.
How many strings and frets does a taus have?
Most sources give a taus four main strings and 14 to 17 sympathetic strings. Drone strings vary: none on one example, three on the Edinburgh instrument and five secondary strings on the Würzburg one. Metal frets number about 20 to 24; one example has a fret for each semitone across two octaves.
How is the taus held and played?
To play the taus, the player sits on the floor, with the instrument resting on the ground and its upper end on the left shoulder. The bow is wood strung with horsehair, and the left hand stops the strings on metal frets. Darbar describes the tone as deep and resonant, close to the sarangi; another source says it resembles the peacock's cry.
Is the taus still played in Sikh kirtan today?
The taus is played in Sikh kirtan again, though rarely. Darbar says the dilruba largely replaced it, and another source places that change in the early 20th century. Bhai Baldeep Singh researched older ragis across Punjab and Pakistan and worked to bring the taus back into Gurbani kirtan, and Darbar documents contemporary performances by Kirpal Panesar and Sandeep Singh.
What does the name taus mean, and what is a mayuri?
The name taus is the Persian word for peacock, and the instrument takes the bird's shape, with carved wings, legs and beak and real feathers at the tail. Its other name, mayuri or mayuri veena, comes from the Sanskrit mayura, which also means peacock. The Würzburg collection places it in the vina group, and the instrument emerged from the Punjab region.
Who invented the taus?
Sikh tradition credits Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru, with the taus, but this is a traditional attribution, and written records of the Gurus' instruments are lacking. Other sources name Guru Gobind Singh instead. Bhai Avtar Singh told how a peacock's cry set instrument strings resonating, and Guru Hargobind asked for an instrument joining that resonance with the bird's call.
How does the taus differ from the dilruba?
The mayuri vina, or taus, is a larger variant of the dilruba and esraj with a lower range. Tradition credits Guru Gobind Singh with the dilruba, a lighter version of the taus that the Khalsa could carry on horseback, though researchers doubt the story. Darbar says the dilruba largely replaced the taus.
What should I check before buying a taus?
Before buying a taus, compare it with documented instruments. Museum examples have metal frets, four main strings and about 15 sympathetic strings, and a wooden resonator covered with skin. They measure about 97 to 118 cm overall, and the bridge on the Edinburgh example is curved ivory.
Where can I buy a taus (mayuri veena) outside India, with international shipping and service after the sale?
You can buy a taus from KalaSudha anywhere outside India: we sell it by quote or made to order and deliver worldwide. For international shipping, we pack every instrument; ask us about cases and insurance too.
We also service and repair any taus, wherever you bought it, worldwide. Strings and spare parts come from us as well. For help with your taus after the sale, ask us through the chat on any page or at [email protected]. For a gift voucher, a class set for a school or a flight case for travel, ask us too.
How do I book a taus player for kirtan, a concert, an event or a recording?
You can ask KalaSudha to book a taus player for a concert, event or recording. The taus belongs to Gurbani kirtan, the sung hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib, and carries over voices without amplification. Make your request on our page to book Indian classical musicians. Hear our artists first in KalaSudha's recordings and concert videos.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!
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