Veena is a plucked stringed instrument used in Carnatic music. There are several variations of the veena and its designs have been evolved over the years. The veena was often used to accompany the Dhrupad style of singing and this did not allow for much intricacy or embellishment around the notes. Originally, veena is a a string instrument with two gourd resonators connected by a central shaft, possibly of bamboo, and held diagonally from lap to shoulder. The Vichitra Veena is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The others include Saraswati and Rudra Veena. Out of these the Rudra and Vichitra Veena are used in northern Indian classical music, while Saraswati veena is used in Carnatic music.

A Veena is played by sitting cross-legged with the instrument held tilted slightly away from the player. The small gourd on the left rests on the player`s left thigh, the left arm passing beneath the neck with the hand curving up and around so that the fingers rest upon the frets. The palm of the right hand rests on the edge of the top plank so that usually the index and the middle fingers can pluck the strings. The drone strings are played with the little finger. The veena`s large resonator is placed on the floor, beyond the the right thigh.

The technique of playing a Veena involves the left hand playing on the frets, controlled pulling on the strings to achieve higher tones and glissandi through increased tension and finger flicks, all to reflect the characteristics of various ragas and their ornamentation (gamaka). According to Hindu mythology, Goddess Saraswati, is often depicted seated upon a swan or peacock, playing a veena. Even the demon-king Ravana and the monkey-god Hanuman were great veena players.

Some variations of the veena are as follows:

Rudra Veena: This veena is also called been or bin and it is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music. As Rudra is a name for the Hindu god Shiva, rudra vina literally means "the veena dear to Shiva." Rudra Veena has a long tubular body with length ranging between 54 to 62 inches made of wood or bamboo. Two large-sized, round resonators, made of dried and hollowed gourds, are attached under the tube. Twenty-four brass-fitted raised wooden frets are fixed on the tube with the help of wax. It is an ancient instrument, but it is rarely played in the present day, due to its decline of popularity in the early 19th century. It was in this century that the Surbahar was introduced and it allowed sitarists to more easily present the alap sections of slow dhrupad-style ragas.

Saraswati Veena: The Saraswati veena is an Indian plucked string instrument, named after the Hindu goddess Saraswati, who is usually depicted holding or playing the instrument. It is one of the three other major types of veena popular today. The Saraswati veena is used in the Carnatic music of South India.

Vichitra Veena: This is a plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music and it is a comparatively recent addition to the Veena family. It is similar to the Gottuvadhyam Veena, since it has no frets and is played with a slide. The Vichitra Veena is made of a broad, fretless, horizontal arm or crossbar (dand) around three feet long and six inches wide, with two large resonating gourds (tumba), which are inlaid with ivory and attached underneath at either end. The narrow ends of the instrument are fashioned into peacock heads. This veena has a five-octave range. There are four main playing strings and five secondary strings (chikaris), which are played openly with the little finger for a drone effect. Underneath them are 13 sympathetic strings tuned to the notes of the appropriate raag.

Gottuvadhyam Veena: This musical instrument is also known as the Gottuvadyam, Chitravina, Chitra vina or mahanataka vina and it is a Carnatic music string instrument. It is played mainly in South India and it is usually also used as a solo instrument in Carnatic music. This instrument resembles the Saraswati Veena in its general form, but in many ways it is unique. The name gottuvadhyam literally means "block instrument." It is a complicated ancient instrument with twenty-one strings, out of which there are six main strings used for melody that pass over the top of the instrument, three drone strings and about twelve sympathetic strings that run parallel and below the main strings. It is played with a slide in a manner somewhat like a lap steel guitar. The fingers on the right hand are usually used with plectra to pluck the metal melody strings while a cylindrical block made out of hardwood (often ebony), water buffalo horn, glass, steel, or teflon held by the left hand is used to slide along the strings to vary the pitch. It is made from a cylindrical block, hence the name.

Mohan Veena: This is a stringed musical instrument used in Indian classical music and this was invented and pouplarised by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Though it comes in the category of classical instruments, it is not an ancient one, since it is actually a modified slide guitar with 20 strings: three melody strings, five drone strings strung to the peghead, and twelve sympathetic strings strung to the tuners mounted on the side of the neck. A tumba or gourd is screwed into the backside of the neck for improved sound quality and vibration. It is played by placing it in one`s lap.