0b.1 Holding the veena, and where everything is
Sit with the veena in the playing position and name every part of it by touch.
The veena is large, heavy and asymmetric, and where it rests decides whether your hands can reach what they need to. Before any note, learn the instrument as a shape you can find your way around without looking — the frets, the four playing strings, the three side strings, the bridge and the two gourds.
Work through these
Sit cross-legged with the small gourd over the left thigh and the body resting on the floor to your right.
This is the ordinary seated position, and it exists so the left arm can travel the whole length of the frets without the instrument moving. Teachers differ on the exact angle, and yours will adjust it for your height.
Saraswati veena · ReferenceFind the four playing strings by touch, running from the one nearest you outward.
They are called sarani, panchama, mandara and anumandara, in that order, and you will hear those names constantly. Learning them by touch rather than by sight is what makes tuning and string changes possible later.
Find the three side strings on the far side of the neck, and hear what they sound.
The side strings are plucked with the little finger of the right hand for the drone and for marking the beat. They are not part of a melody and are never fretted.
Run a finger along the frets and count them from the low end upward.
There are twenty-four frets covering two octaves, set into wax so they can be moved when the instrument is set up. The gaps are wide at the low end and narrow as you climb, and feeling that pattern is how you find a note without looking.
Saraswati veena · Reference
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Links last checked 30 Aug 2026.
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