Vīnā (Sans., Pali), stringed instr. of ancient and modern India. In modern times the word has become a generic term for chordophones in S. India, the N. India equivalent being bīn. Originally it may have designated the arched harp, as the term is clearly related to bint, the harp of ancient Egypt. The harp itself disappeared from India some 1000 years ago and the word came to designate a stick zither. Thus the word is older than the form of instr. we know today. In Vedic literature the vīnā is…