Eka-tantrī vīṇā

Eka-tantrī vīṇā atMukteshvara Temple of Bhubaneswar, ca. 10th century C.E.

India, 10th century C.E. Image of Saraswati holding aneka-tantri vina, a type of tube zither.

The far-right image shows many details missing from depictions of theeka-tantri vina: the longer length of the instrument, thick tube, the large gourd at the top, the playing style over the shoulder, the stylized mouth at the bottom of the instrument, a bridge on the rectangle just above the mouth.

Theeka-tantrī vīṇā was a medievaltube-zitherveena in India, with a single string and one or more gourd resonators. The instrument became prominent in Indian music in about the 10th century C.E. as instruments of court music. Alongside thealapini vina andkinnari vina it replaced theharp-style veenas and lute-style veenas in sculpture. It was possibly a forerunner of therudra vina. It shares its name with the modern single-string drone lute, theektara.

The instrument is very closely related to the one-stringed alapini vina, an instrument which started out a stick zither but became a tube zither like the eka-tantri vina.

Although the tube zithers and stick zithers are very similar, it is possible that they have different origins. Early paintings of stick zithers in India date back at least to the 5th century C.E. The earliest currently known stick zither is in the Caves of Ajanta at the end of the 5th century.^[1] After a period of assuming that tube zithers spread from India to Southeast Asia, modern scholars have been trying to decide if the tube zithers might have originated in Southeast Asia and spread to India. Whatever the origins, Indian influence on musical culture in Southeast Asia is recorded in the archaeological remains of past civilizations.^[2][3][4]

Parts of the vinas from Sarnga Deva's Ratnakara:^[5][6]

• Biradaalu, anchoring point for string at the top of the instrument
• Dandam ordandi the body or tube
• Kakubham, hollow box at bottom end, top curved slightly, bridge sits on
• Naagapaasam, anchoring point for string at the kakubham
• Patrika, bridge
• Tumba, resonator
• Yali ordorika, carved figure on bottom end
• Kramica, shall stick held against string by musician. Sometimes replaced in sculpture by one or two fingers held straight.

Development of fretted instrument

Saraswati holding aneka-tantri vina, ca. 1000 C.E. This image clearly shows the bridge (bottom of instrument) which would sustain the string's note and create a buzzing quality.

Sarasvati with a frettedkinnari vina, with an apparentmakara oryali on the top. Fretted tube-zither vinas are mentioned in literature by 800 C.E., coexisting with the non-fretted vinas. Therudra veena descends from the kinnari veena.^[7] The square at the bottom of the instrument is a stylized version of the bridge from theeka-tantri vina.

Madras, 1876.Kinnari vina labeled "tingadee." The spike is a bridge, directing string energy to resonator. In later kinnari vinas a third gourd was added in the center, which was pressed into the chest, similar to the alapini vina.

Theālāpiṇī vīṇā,eka-tantri vina andkinnari vina were all mentioned in the 12th-13th century bookSangita Ratnakara byŚārṅgadeva.^[2] The 19th-century kinnari vina appears to have traits of both thealapini vina and theeka-tantri vina. The gourd of the kinnari vina pressed into the musician's chest is similar to thealapini vina. The gourd high enough to go over the shoulder is a trait of theeka-tantri vina. Eka-tantri means single string. The alapini vina may have developed into a multi-stringed instrument. The kinnari veena had two strings in the early to mid-19th century; the early 20th century kinnari vina in the Metropolitan Museum of Art has two main strings, and like the rudra veena that came from it, three side strings. The kinnari vina had waxed on frets, and the alapini vina may also have developed frets.

Instruments in paintings and sculpture are not generally labeled, and researchers have had to apply the nameeka-tantrī vīṇā (one-string vina) to different instruments. Iconography can't show whether the rods or bodies are hollow, and researchers have had to look for clues in literature.

Instruments in surviving images that are labeledeka-tantrī vīṇā are generally tube zithers with wide tubes and a gourd attached to the top, the gourd held over the musician's shoulder and the other end past their hip, with a single string and no frets. Musician's are shown sliding the straightened fingers of their upper hand on the string, or holding a stick to slide on the string, and plucking with their lower hand.^[8]

The instruments are fretless, the depictions showing a single string. The later instruments labeledkinnari vina we're fretted and show traits of both the ekatantri vina and the alapini vina, with gourds that are pressed into the chest and also rise above the shoulder.^[8]

In medieval artwork, a second lower gourd has been seen on both stick zithers and tube zithers. Artwork for the eka-tantri vina commonly shows a second carved resonator or gourd resonator near the instrument's lower end.

While the eka-tantri vina had only one string (the meaning of its name), it may have been modified to add additional strings and frets, moving toward the development of the rudra veena. The manner of holding the instrument is similar too. The kinnari veena with its multiple strings and frets also may also be related in the development of the rudra veena, although this instrument was held vertically in artwork, different from the manner the rudra veena was held.

Based on definitions from Indian literature, the unifying criterion is that both have a single string and a gourd resonator. The literature includes theNāṭyaśāstra (written sometime between 2nd century B.C.E. - 3rd century C.E.) byBharata Muni and theSangita Ratnakara (written 1210 - 1247 AD) byŚārṅgadeva.^[3]

In the 13th century, the Sangita Ratnakara placed vinas into three categories: fretless (into which theeka-tanktri vina was placed),harps, and fretted vinas (which included thealapini vina and thekinnari vina). Frets were possibly introduced as a reaction to the invention of the 12-string scale, ca. 700-800. In 1400, the frets on thekinnari vina were attributed to Matanga (800 A.D.) the author of Brhad-desi.^[7]

For theeka-tantri vina Śārṅgadeva described an instrument made ofKhadirah wood, less than a yard long (alternative translation says 3 arm lengths long), with a dandam "a stetched palm" (about 5-8 inches) in circumference, and 1.5 inches narrower on the bottom where ayali might be carved.^[5]

In comparison, thealapini vina Śārṅgadeva described was an instrument 36 inches long, thered sandalwood orKhadirah wood or bamboo rod 2 inches in circumference. The cup (tumba) was made from coconut, and its string was reportedly made of silk, producing a delicate sound.^[5]

Researchers Piyal Bhattacharya and Shreetama Chowdhury described theeka-tantrī vīṇā as being a larger instrument, with a "bigger tube" and bigger gourd, compared to theālāpiṇī vīṇā, which they described as a stick zither. The researchers looked at where the instrument's gourd was placed while playing; they indicated instruments with the gourd over the shoulder wereeka-tantrī vīṇās and those pressed against the chest wereālāpiṇī vīṇās.^[3]

Patrick Kersale applied the labelekatantri to a 10th century tube zither from thePala Empire, a long instrument with a squared base and raised bridge-like piece (that lengthened the time the string would sound).^[9] Like on the modernpinaka vina a stick was slid on the string to determine the notes.^[9] With the kse diev, the gourd is pressed with different pressures into the player's, and the ring finger of the right hand plucks, while the left hand applies pressure on the string at the players chest.^[10] The purpose of the bridge may also have been to create a "buzzing" quality to the note (known inIndian classical music asjivari.^[2]

The writers for the vīnā entry in the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments called theālāpiṇī vīṇā a stick zither, in which the stick might be a bamboo or wooden tube. They focused on how the vinas were played. The gourd on theālāpiṇī vīṇā was cut to form a cup or bowl, the opening of which could be placed against the musician's body while playing, creating a "closed resonance chamber". On theeka-tantrī vīṇā and laterKinarri vina the gourd (bottom intact) used for the resonance chamber rested over the musician's shoulder. These latter two might have a second or third gourd added further down, creating the modernkinarri vina andrudra veena^[2]

In his bookBharatiya Sangeet Vadya,Lalmani Misra used Śārṅgadeva's work to describe theEka-tantri. The body of the instrument, was 3 arm-lengths long and a hand's breadth wide, hollowed out to form a tube, with a bore of 1.5 forefinger widths. A borehole (perpendicular to the instrument's bore) allows the resonating sound in the tube to pass into each gourd resonator; the perpendicular bores are 2 forefingers or 3 pinky-fingers wide. The gourds are secured to the eka-tantri's wooden stem using gut cord, passing through holes made in the stem, down through a hole in the top of the gourd; the thread goes through a pair of holes in the top of a coconut, set inside the gourd (with the rounded side, pressing against the sides of the gourd and toward the stem). On the instrument's lower end, the bridge (kakubh) is attached, its surface not flat but rounded like a tortoise shell. On top of the bridge apatuli (metal plate forming a spike) was placed in the center.^[6]

Different symbolism appears on the instruments over time. In Hinduism, the instruments have been associated with the godsShiva,Saraswati, andNataraja.^[8] Shiva has been portrayed playing it romantically forParavati, and as an ascetic, Natajara in his form as the divine dancer. Saraswati is a goddess of flowing things, including water, wisdom and music. Much less frequently,Krishna has also been portrayed playing the vina and dancing; the instrument is not iconically associated with him, as his instrument is the flute.

The instrument has been portrayed in Buddhist temple art in the hands of humans, as well as celestialkinnaras, half human, half bird figures.

Some kinnari vinas in museums seem to have bird-related carvings and feathers on the ends. Somealapini vinas andeka-tantri vinas have very styled ends that resemble the heads of monsters, similar to theMakara water monster's or theYali's. Both monsters had forms that included an elephant's trunk, a feature found on some kinnari vinas.

• 
  Bengal, India. 11th century C.E. Saraswati playing Eka-tantri vina. Her left hand is holding a stick, which may be like the slide on aPinaka veena. That stick is not uncommon in the Pala Empire made sculptures. The gourd is resting over her shoulder.
• 
  Saraswati with alapini vina or eka-tantri vina, 12th century.
• 
  Saraswati with analapini vina or possibly eka-tantri vina. The instrument has no apparent resonator except the thick tube of the body. Alapini vinas tended to have narrower tubes.^[5] 12th century C.E.
• 
  Eka-tantri vina, from sculpture "Guardians of the eight directions"
• 
  A Buddhist artwork with a person playing eka-tantri vina (far left).
• 
  Eka-tantri vina, from the feet (left side) of theStone Made Parvati from Rajasthan, displayed at National Museum, New Delhi
• 
  Eka-tantri vina, from the feet (right side) of theStone Made Parvati, from Rajasthan, displayed at National Museum, New Delhi
• 
  Date unknown. Saraswati playing an eka-tantri vina in Kathmandu, Nepal. The resonator depicted is not a gourd but carved (possibly wood].
• 
  Musician with body of snake playing eka-tantri vina, from Parsvanatha
• 
  Woman playing Eka-tantri vina atAmbika Mata Temple.
• 
  Image from theHarshnath Temple
• 
  Image from the Harshnath Temple with side view of the eka-tantri vina's resonator
• 
  Side view of an eka-tantri vina at theHazara Rama temple atHampi. Circa early 15th century C.E.

• Indian musical instruments
• Gourd musical instruments
• Monochords
• Tube zithers

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