Ragmala (Garland of the Raags), part 12 — the whole garland

ਖਸਟ ਰਾਗ ਉਨਿ ਗਾਏ ਸੰਗਿ ਰਾਗਨੀ ਤੀਸ ॥

khasat raag un gaa-ay sang raagnee tees.

So all together, they sing the six Raagas and the thirty Raaginis,

ਸਭੈ ਪੁਤ੍ਰ ਰਾਗੰਨ ਕੇ ਅਠਾਰਹ ਦਸ ਬੀਸ ॥੧॥੧॥

sabhai putar raagann kay athaarah das bees. ||1||1||

and all the forty-eight sons of the Raagas. ||1||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

So all together they sing the six raags, with their thirty companion melodies,

and all the sons of the raags: eighteen, ten and twenty, forty-eight in all.

Many separate flowers, one thread: the whole garland of song, counted and named.

The deeper layer

The garland of raags is complete: six raags, thirty companion melodies, and forty-eight smaller tunes.

This is the full count of the Raag Maalaa. The numbers ||1||1|| close the verse, and with it the garland ends, on the last lines of the Guru Granth Sahib. The place of the Raag Maalaa in the scripture is discussed within the tradition; some communities recite it and some do not. It is kept here with respect, as the closing pages of the book. Its picture is a gentle last word: many melodies, one thread.

A Question to Sit With

At the very end of a long and beautiful book, what one thread do you feel running through all of it?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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