Rudra Veena

The Rudra Veena is a type of tube zither.  The sound vibrates powerfully into the player's body through the large calabash gourds, so considerable tantric-Yogic symbolism surrounds this instrument.  The fretted, tube shaped body embodies both the human spine and the cosmic axis, while the gourds represent the breasts of Shiva's wife Parvati or of Sarasvati, goddess of arts and learning.