Many scholars of Indian classical music believe that the sarod is a combination of the ancient chitravina, the medieval Indian rabab (aka the seniya rabab) and modern sursingar. Some scholars even contend that a similar instrument may have existed about two thousand years ago in ancient India during the ages of the Gupta kings. In fact, a Gupta period coin depicts the great king Samudragupta playing a veena, which many believe to be the precursor of the sarod. The present Indian Traces of similar Rabab style instruments can also be found in southern India, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, where it is known as the swarbat. The folk rabab, an instrument popular in north India, had a wooden fingerboard, its strings were made of silk, cotton or gut, and it was played with a wooden pick. In history, reference is also made to a Sharadiya Veena from which the name Sarod have been derived. The sarod is also believed to have descended from the Afghan rubab, a similar instrument originating in Central Asia and Afghanistan.