The Source Book On Sikhism

X. Mundavni

Mundavni or the seal is on page 1429 and consists of two cloaks of Guru Arjan.

XI. Raagmala

The last composition in the Guru Granth is Raag mala. The Sikh scholars differ in their opinion about its inclusion in the Granth. The traditional school thinks it to be a part of the Granth and asserts that it is an index of the raags used in the Granth. This argument can be challenged on the grounds that a number of raags mentioned Raagmala are not in the Granth and a number of raags used in Granth Sahib are not in the Raagmala. Another argument of the traditional schools that it is a part of the original copy and is written in the same ink and with the same pen as was used for the other parts of the Granth. This plea also does not carry any weight as in those days all the scribes used almost the same ink and the same type of pen. As the writing of the Gurumukhi characters was also the same so it becomes rather difficult to identify the handwriting. It is said by the modern scholars that it was Bhai Banno who might have been instrumental in its inclusion in the Granth as he had the possession of the original copy of the Granth when he took it to Lahore for binding. The question why Guru Arjan did not strike it off after receiving the Granth back from Bhair Banno is unanswered. The only place where Raagmala is not read at the end of a Path is probably Akal Takhat Sahib at Amritsar. Raagmala comes after Mundavni - the SEAL. This also puts doubts on its inclusion as nothing should come after the SEAL, which means the end. In absence of any final decision by the Sikh scholars the Raagmala is included in every copy of the Granth.