Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c6.s3.94

c6.s3.94

which were one above the other, and stretched from the arm to the belly, forming as it were arcs to the crescent of the whole frame: The top-most string was called the *bhamaratanti*-bee-string;¹ all these strings passed through holes (*chiddāni*)² in the flat surface (parchment sounding board) of the belly, and probably also passed through, and were fastened to, its rounded under-side (*pokkhara*). The weight of the instrument lay well back. Thus, from this description of the different parts of the *vīṇā*,³ it becomes clear that it was much simpler than the *bin* of the modern type,⁴ but similar to that depicted in the sculptural representations at Barhut and elsewhere,⁵ and was something like the accompanying illustration.⁶