Gandharva Veda is an upaveda associated the Sama Veda. Here is a look at the meaning of the term Gandharvas and a note on the musical instruments and music mentioned in the Gandharva Veda. According to ancient tradition, Gandharvas were semi-divine class of musicians and their music was denoted by the term Gandharva. They sang to the accompaniment of the veena (lute). The saman’s denoted Gandharva as music outside the sphere of vedic music. The word ‘saman’ is explained in Vedic literature as the musical rendering of Veda verse (rk). Meaning of Term Gandharva Naradiyasiksha gives the etymology of the word Gandharva as ‘ga’ – stands for geya (song), ‘dha’ for the skilful playing on instruments like veena on which the various dhatus are to be produced by strokes on the strings, and ‘va’ for the percussion instruments like veena and vamsha. Abhinavagupta gives another etymology – gam vacam dharayati, this vak is in the form of song. Musical Instruments of Gandharvas Th