The taus, originally known as the mayuri veena,[1] is a bowed string instrument from North India.

It is a form of veena used in North India with a peacock-shaped resonator called a mayuri, and is played with the neck of the instrument on bow.

References to the mayuri veena have been found in Malavikagnimitra,[3] written by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa between the 4th to 5th centuries CE.

[8] The dilruba was designed to be a compact version of the taus, making it more convenient for the Sikh army to carry on horseback.

Avtar Singh played the taus on the BBC Radio 4 'Today' programme on 18 September 2024 to mark the addition of 5 Indian string instruments into the UK's eight-grade music exam system.