The first thing in the Guru Granth Sahib: a sequence of claims about what the Divine is, placed before any argument that might establish them.
The Mool Mantar is the opening statement of the Guru Granth Sahib, composed by Guru Nanak and standing at the head of Japji Sahib and therefore of the whole volume. It sets out what the Divine is through a short sequence of claims, beginning with oneness and ending with the assertion that this is known by the Guru's grace rather than by reasoning. Its name means the root formula, and Sikh children usually learn it first.
| Literally | The root formula, from mool, root or origin, and mantar, a formula or utterance |
|---|---|
| Origin | Composed by Guru Nanak in the language of the Guru Granth Sahib, written in Gurmukhi |
| Established by | Placed at the head of the Adi Granth by Guru Arjan when he compiled it in 1604 |
| Where it appears | Ang 1, opening Japji Sahib and the Guru Granth Sahib; also at the head of many sections within the volume |
| Where you meet it | Usually the first thing a Sikh child learns, before any complete bani |
The Mool Mantar is not an argument and does not try to be one. It states, in order, that the Divine is one; that truth is its name; that it creates; that it is without fear and without enmity; that it is beyond time and beyond the cycle of birth; that it is self-existent; and that it is realised through the Guru's grace. Then Japji Sahib begins, and the thirty-eight pauris that follow proceed from that statement rather than build toward it.
That ordering is the whole point. A treatise would establish its premises and arrive at a conclusion. The Guru Granth Sahib opens with the conclusion and spends 1,430 angs living inside it. The last of the claims explains why it is arranged that way: if the Divine is known by grace rather than by reasoning, then a proof placed first would be the wrong kind of thing entirely.
Two of the claims do unusual work. Without fear and without enmity are stated together, and stating them of the Divine sets the standard for a Sikh: fear and hatred are treated as the same failure viewed from two sides, and both are excluded from what a person is being asked to become. Beyond time removes the Divine from the cycle of birth and death that the surrounding traditions organised themselves around.
Sevahey does not print the Mool Mantar. What is described above is what the statement claims, not the statement itself, and the distinction is deliberate: a summary in English explains, while a Gurmukhi text or transliteration would put a recitable scripture on a commercial page. A devotee wanting the words should read the Guru Granth Sahib or use a gurudwara's own resource.
A description of the claims, not a translation and not a rendering. For the words, read the Guru Granth Sahib.
| Claim | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Oneness | One Divine, not many and not divided; the first claim and the ground of the rest |
| Truth as its name | Not one attribute among others but what it is, so that truth is not a quality it possesses |
| Creator | The Divine makes, rather than merely presiding over what exists |
| Without fear | Nothing stands above it that it could fear, which becomes the standard set for a Sikh |
| Without enmity | Paired with fearlessness; the two are treated as one failure seen from opposite sides |
| Beyond time, and unborn | Removed from the cycle of birth and death the surrounding traditions were organised around |
| Self-existent | Depends on nothing, and was brought into being by nothing |
| Known by the Guru's grace | Realised rather than deduced, which is why the statement stands before the argument instead of after it |
Where the Mool Mantar ends is genuinely disputed and has been argued within the Panth for a long time. One position holds that it closes at the claim about the Guru's grace, which is where the descriptive sequence finishes. Another holds that it continues into the lines that follow, extending it further. The disagreement is not trivial in practice, since it changes what a person recites when asked for the Mool Mantar and what is taught to children, and different traditions and gurdwaras teach different lengths. Both positions are held by serious authorities and neither has been settled by any body all Sikhs recognise, so a source presenting one length as the Mool Mantar is reporting one tradition rather than the tradition.
Sevahey does not publish the Mool Mantar. This page carries no Gurmukhi, no transliteration, no translation and no recording of it, and the description above sets out what the statement claims rather than reproducing what it says. For the words themselves, read the Guru Granth Sahib at ang 1 or use your gurudwara's own resource. Sevahey also does not teach recitation and no Sevak recites it on anyone's behalf.
The Mool Mantar is learned and kept personally, usually before anything else, and nobody recites it for another person. An ardas is built for the opposite situation: the granthi stands before the Guru Granth Sahib, the volume the Mool Mantar opens, and speaks your name, your gotra and your request aloud, so a prayer can be offered for someone who is not there. A verified Sevak arranges it and sends the hukamnama and same-day proof.
The Mool Mantar is the opening statement of the Guru Granth Sahib, composed by Guru Nanak, standing at the head of Japji Sahib and therefore of the whole volume. It sets out what the Divine is in a short sequence of claims, from oneness through to the assertion that this is known by the Guru's grace. Sikh children usually learn it first.
Mool means root or origin and mantar means a formula or utterance, so the name is the root formula. It is apt: the statement is the root from which the rest of the Guru Granth Sahib grows, and the thirty-eight pauris of Japji Sahib that follow proceed from it rather than building toward it.
The Mool Mantar states that the Divine is one; that truth is its name; that it creates; that it is without fear and without enmity; that it is beyond time and unborn; that it is self-existent; and that it is realised by the Guru's grace. Sevahey describes these claims rather than printing the text itself.
Because the last claim of the Mool Mantar explains the arrangement: if the Divine is known by grace rather than by reasoning, a proof placed first would be the wrong kind of thing. The volume opens with its conclusion and spends 1,430 angs living inside it, which is the reverse of how a treatise is built.
Where the Mool Mantar ends is genuinely disputed and has been argued within the Panth for a long time. One position holds it closes where the descriptive sequence finishes, at the claim about the Guru's grace; another holds it continues into the lines that follow. Different traditions and gurdwaras teach different lengths, and no body all Sikhs recognise has settled it.
The Mool Mantar stands at the head of Japji Sahib, which occupies angs 1 to 8 of the Guru Granth Sahib. Japji Sahib's full structure is the Mool Mantar, an opening salok, thirty-eight numbered pauris, and a closing salok. The Mool Mantar also appears at the head of many sections elsewhere in the volume.
Because Sevahey publishes no scripture. These pages explain a composition and never reproduce it, in Gurmukhi, transliteration or translation, and a commercial site printing a recitable scripture to capture search traffic is exactly what this rule exists to prevent. For the words, read the Guru Granth Sahib at ang 1 or use a gurudwara's own resource.
No. The Mool Mantar is learned and kept personally and no Sikh tradition treats it as something recited for another person, and Sevahey performs no paths of any kind. What a verified Sevak can arrange is an ardas before the Guru Granth Sahib, in which your name, gotra and request are spoken aloud, with the hukamnama and same-day proof sent to you.
Choose the gurudwara, name your sankalp, receive the proof.
* These pages explain Sikh terms and do not reproduce scripture. A full seva is ₹899; sevas start from ₹251. Sevahey is a service platform and does not promise a spiritual, medical, financial, legal, or personal outcome from any prayer or ritual.