The Veena (Sanskrit: vīṇā) is a plucked stringed instrument originating in ancient India, used mainly in Indian classical music and Pakistani classical music. The name is used for several instruments belonging to different families, mainly the Rudra veena (a zither) and the Saraswati veena (a necked bowl lute) but also to other types of plucked string instruments (Mohan veena,Ancient veena etc).
The earliest veena was an instrument of the harp type whose type survives in the Burmese harp, whereas in the last centuries and nowadays, the word has tended to be applied to instruments of the lute type or even, recently, to certain kinds of guitars developed in India. The more popular sitar is believed to have been derived from a type of veena which was modified by a Mughal court musician to conform with the tastes of his Persian patrons. A person who plays a veena is called a vainika.
saraswathiveena 