dotara

thumb|alt=|A folk musician playing Dotara in Dhaka, [[Bangladesh]] The dotara or dotar ( dütüra, দোতৰা dütora, ; dotora), (literally, “Of [or ‘having’] two strings”) is a two-stringed, plucked musical instrument from South Asia, with most contemporary models having four playing strings (similar to the sarod). Comparatively, the sarod is a slightly larger and more elaborate instrument, being built with an additional set of resonant sympathetic strings. However, the dotara is still quite resonant and projective of its own sound, due to its rounded shape and overall construction. It is commonly played in Bangladesh (where it is known as the national instrument) and the Indian states of Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. It was mentioned in a 14th-century Saptakanda Ramayana. Later, it was adopted by the ascetic cults of Bauls and Fakirs. Today, it is also used to play Hindustani Classical Ragas.

==Etymology== The word is from Eastern Indo-Aryan (do târ), literally "two strings", or “double-stringed”, with the suffix “-a” indicating “having, -ed”. The instrument is known as dotara or dütara (, ) and dütüra (). Additionally, it was believed to have been called dotara due to the strings being of equal pitch in tuning.