In certain ancient temples of South India, relief carvings can be found depicting long-necked, lute-like instruments. From these artefacts, it may be inferred that instruments similar to the sitar or sevar were in use in India even in the pre-Islamic era. Notably, such depictions are seen in the Pattadakal temples of the Chalukya dynasty (10th century) and in the Chidambaram temple of the 12th century.
Although these instruments varied somewhat in shape and design, it can be assumed that a fundamental form was in use during that time. There is considerable scope for in-depth research into their place in the history of music, and future studies may reveal many hitherto unknown facts. Nevertheless, these instruments have received little attention, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact place in history.
Lack of Names and Evidence
Across the Indian subcontinent, there is no clear evidence identifying a specific name for these long-necked lutes. They were fewer in number compared to the stick-zither, and the latter’s immense popularity likely overshadowed them. In fact, until the 6th century CE, harp-like vīṇās were common in the subcontinent. After the 6th century, the stick-zither gradually assumed prominence over the harp.
Temple Paintings and Literary References
The presence of long-necked, lute-like instruments is clearly attested in medieval temple paintings. However, references to them in Sanskrit literature and in subsequent Western scholarship are extremely rare. In South India, there is a possible mention of a long-necked instrument called the Kachchapi, although such instruments probably did not gain much popularity due to the dominance of zither-type instruments.
Up until the 12th century, the use of such long-necked instruments in music history appears to have been quite limited, confined to a few regions. As a result, there is no demonstrable direct continuity between the long-necked lutes seen in temple art and the later sitar.
Ancient Artefacts and the Chitra Vīṇā
Even before depictions of long-necked lutes (between the 2nd and 6th centuries CE), evidence exists of certain short-necked, lute-like instruments. Professor Lalmani Misra and Dr B. C. Deva have identified these as Chitra Vīṇā. These had seven strings and belonged to the monocord family of instruments. However, no direct, evidential link has been established between the Chitra Vīṇā and the sitar.
There is, however, a strong possibility that the Chitra Vīṇā, once common within the subcontinent, was later adopted in other countries. Research into the name “Chitra” has brought this possibility to light, offering an important clue in music history.
Phonetic Analysis
Dr Sunira Kasliwal conducted a phonetic analysis on this subject. In 1982, Professor Mumtaz Hussain from Karachi, as a special guest lecturer at the Persian Department of Delhi University, presented a research paper titled Sitar Shabda Ki Dastan. Based on this paper, Dr Kasliwal noted that the similarities between names such as the Greek Cithara, the Hebrew Kipara, North Africa’s Githara, Algeria’s Koitra, Morocco’s Kitra, and the Gypsies’ Ketra are unlikely to be mere coincidence. Rather, they may indicate a historical link.
Historical Timeline of Medieval Long-Necked Lute-Type Instruments
| Period | Event/Development |
| 2nd–6th century CE | Evidence of short-necked, lute-like instruments; prevalence of Chitra Vīṇā, a seven-stringed monocord-type instrument |
| 6th century CE | Dominance of stick-zithers over harp-type vīṇās |
| 10th century CE | Depictions of long-necked lutes in Pattadakal temples of the Chalukya dynasty |
| 12th century CE | Depictions of long-necked lutes in Chidambaram temple |
| Medieval period | Possible reference to long-necked Kachchapi in South India; limited distribution |
| Modern era (linguistic evolution) | Transformation of “Chitra” into Cithara → Sitara → Gatara/Gitar → Zither/Cither |
Variations in International Names and Pronunciation
Dr Kasliwal’s analysis shows that “Chitra” was not easy to pronounce in other countries, leading to changes in form across languages.
In Latin, Cithara was pronounced Sitara. This was essentially the Roman Kithara, but in the Roman alphabet the letter K was replaced by C. Thus Kithara became Cithara.
Later, in some Western languages, C was replaced by G, transforming the Roman Kithara or Latin Cithara into Gatara or Gitar (guitar).
In Austria and certain other European countries, the instrument came to be called Zither or Cither, representing another linguistic evolution of the original term. This demonstrates how the name and structure of an ancient South Asian instrument gradually transformed across languages and cultures into today’s familiar guitar, zither, and related forms.