The oldest preserve portrayal in temple architecture from around the 5th century A.D. shows a simple, one stringed instrument consisting of a bamboo cane with a gourd as resonance body.
Around the 16th century the Rudra Veena had developed her actual shape with frets and two symmetric resonance bodies. At this time it evolved into one of the most important melody instruments of the aristocratic court music and became later the main solo instrument of the primary vocal Dhrupad music style. With the rise of the Khyal, the modern classical music style of North India, and the therewith aligned evolution of newer instruments like Sitar and Sarod the Veena gradually lost its important role from the 19th century onwards.