The Surbahar was developed in the early 19th century, at a time when both the Sitar (of the Khayal style) and the Rudra Veena (of the Dhrupad style) existed. The Surbahar can be considered as a fusing between both of these earlier instruments. It is sometimes referred to as a bass-sitar and some sitar musicians play it in concerts during the first part (the Alap), in order to present the raga, and then switch to the sitar for the composition.
In its structure, the Surbahar resembles the Sitar – it has sympathetic resonating strings and main melodic strings, a half gourd used for resonance and body and neck that are made of wood (Tik, or Tun). The Surbahar is bigger in size than the Sitar. This enables its bass sound, that somewhat resembles that of the Rudra Veena.
Surbahar playing also resembles that of the Sitar, where the musician uses a mizrab, a pick, in order to strum the strings. The Surbahar can be played relatively fast, but its sound is optimal in the slow and meditative alap playing.