<P> The ancient veena is an early Indian arched harp, not to be confused with the modern Indian veena which is a type of lute . The instrument is attested on a gold coin of the Gupta Empire from the mid-300s CE . </P> <P> The Sanskrit word veena (वीणा vīṇā) which is attested already in the Rigveda has designated in the course of Indian history a variety of instruments of various types, as it is a generic term for all kinds of string instruments, just as the Tamil word yazh (யாழ் yaaḻ). In the last centuries and today the instruments designated under the designation veena of which there are several kinds, have tended to be mostly instruments of the lute or cithar type, and recently the word was even applied to modified Western guitars . But the early veenas could be plucked string instruments of any type . </P> <P> One of early veenas used in India from early times, until the Gupta period and later (this is probably the instrument referred to as veenaa in a chapter of the Nāṭyaśāstra dealing with instrumental music) was an instrument of the type of the harp and more precisely of the arched harp . It was played with the strings being kept parallel to the body of the player, with both hands plucking the strings, as shown on Samudragupta's gold coins It is not possible to tell exactly the number of strings of the instrument on the coin, but descriptions in early literary sources of an ancient instrument called the saptatantree veenaa (7 - string veenaa) seem to coincide generally with the type of instrument represented on the coin . In the Nāṭyaśāstra this 7 - string veena (played with the fingers, as opposed to the 9 - string vipanchi played with a plectrum) is called a citra . </P> <P> The depiction of king Samudragupta holding such an instrument on his gold coins testifies of the popularity of the instrument, and also of the interest in music and the arts of a king who was also one of the greatest military conquerors in Indian history . </P>

Who was the first indian emperor to be depicted on a coin featuring a veena