Sikh Art by Kanwar Singh – artofpunjab.com

“Ragmala” literally means a beaded string of musical melodies. “Mala” means “a beaded string” and “Raga” is a “musical composition.” Ragmala is the name given to the last composition in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

It appears after the Mundavani, the concluding hymn (The Royal Seal) and a Salok (final verse) by Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru.

Like Japji Sahib, which appears at the beginning of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, this composition has no heading to show the name of the author. However, unlike Japji Sahib it has no mention of ‘Nanak,’ the serialization of the stanzas does not follow any order, and there is no universal consensus within the Sikh community on who authored Ragmala.

Ragmala outlines and shares information about many of the Ragas (melody structures) included in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

Ragmala is not recited at the Akal Takht in Amritsar, and no Sikh is deemed as committing a religious offense (Tankhaah) if they do not read Ragmala at the completion (Bhog) of the recitation of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

~ From “Ragmala,” SikhiWiki.

Note: Sikh scholars differ in their opinion about the inclusion of Ragmala in the Granth. The prevalent position amongst Sikhs and the official position of the SGPC is as described in the Sikh Reht Maryada: “The complete reading of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (Sadhaaran or Akhand) may be concluded with the reading of Mundavani or Raagmala according to the local practice observed at the concerned place. Since there is a difference of opinion within the Panth on this issue, nobody should write or print a copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji excluding Raagmala.”