Ancient veena

The ancient veena is an early Indian arched harp, not to be confused with the modern Indian veena which is a type of lute or stick zither. Names of specific forms of the arched harp include the chitra vīṇā with seven strings, the vipanchi vīṇā with nine strings and the mattakokila vīṇā a harp or possibly board zither with 21 strings.
The instrument is attested on a gold coin of the Gupta Empire from the mid-300s CE. The instrument was also illustrated in the oldest known Saraswati-like relief carvings, from Buddhist archaeological sites dated to 200 BCE, where she holds a harp-style veena.
Generic meaning of veena.
The Sanskrit word "veena" (वीणा "vīṇā") which is attested already in the Rigveda has designated in the course of Indian history a variety of instruments of various types, as it is a generic term for all kinds of string instruments, just as the Tamil word "yazh" (யாழ் "yaaḻ"). In the last centuries and today the instruments designated under the designation veena of which there are several kinds, have tended to be mostly instruments of the lute or cithar type, and recently the word was even applied to modified Western guitars. But the early veenas could be plucked string instruments of any type.
Early Gupta vina.
One of early veenas used in India from early times, until the Gupta period and later (this is probably the instrument referred to as "veenaa" in a chapter of the Nāṭyaśāstra dealing with instrumental music) was an instrument of the type of the harp and more precisely of the . It was played with the strings being kept parallel to the body of the player, with both hands plucking the strings, as shown on Samudragupta's gold coins It is not possible to tell exactly the number of strings of the instrument on the coin, but descriptions in early literary sources of an ancient instrument called the "saptatantree veenaa" (7-string veenaa) seem to coincide generally with the type of instrument represented on the coin. In the Nāṭyaśāstra this 7-string veena (played with the fingers, as opposed to the 9-string vipanchi played with a plectrum) is called a citra.
The depiction of king Samudragupta holding such an instrument on his gold coins testifies of the popularity of the instrument, and also of the interest in music and the arts of a king who was also one of the greatest military conquerors in Indian history.
Descendants.
From India this type of instrument was introduced into Burma at an early period (by the 8th century CE and possibly as early as 500 CE, where, while instruments of this type have disappeared from India itself, it is still played, generally with 15 strings, under the name of "saung" (known in the West also as the "Burmese harp").
The Cambodians have recreated their ancient harp, the pin. The instrument appeared in Hindu religious art in Khmer temples dating back between the 7th and 13th centuries A.D.