EsoteriaA library of sacred & hidden knowledge
Liber XXXVI · Zoroastrianism

Liber XXXVI · Zoroastrianism · Chapter I: Ahura Mazda & Cosmic Dualism

Zoroastrian Eschatology: Judgment, Chinvat Bridge and Renewal

Zoroastrian eschatology explained: the soul's judgment at the Chinvat Bridge, heaven and hell, the Saoshyant saviours, resurrection and frashokereti.

8 min read 1,867 words Updated

Zoroastrian eschatology is the religion's teaching about the last things: the judgment of each soul at the Chinvat Bridge after death, the reward of the righteous in the House of Song and the punishment of the wicked in the House of the Lie, and the end of history, when saviours called Saoshyants will appear, the dead will be raised and the world will be made perfect again in the frashokereti. It is one of the oldest systematic visions of personal and cosmic judgment, and it is often cited in debates about the origins of Jewish, Christian and Islamic beliefs.

Judgment and Renewal in the Gathas§

The earliest evidence comes from the Gathas, the seventeen hymns attributed to Zarathustra himself (see Zarathustra and the Gathas). Their language is dense and allusive, and translations differ, but several eschatological ideas are clear. Every person is judged by their choice between asha, truth and right order, and druj, the Lie. Zarathustra speaks of a crossing, the Cinvato Peretu or "Bridge of the Separator" (or "of the Accountant"), where the righteous will pass with him while the souls of the wicked will be confounded. The good are promised the "House of Song" (garo demana); followers of the Lie the "House of the Worst Thinking" or "House of the Lie".

The Gathas also speak of a final ordeal by fire and molten metal through which the two sides will be distinguished, and of a time when existence will be made "brilliant" or "wonderful" — the root of the later technical term frashokereti. Zarathustra and his followers appear to see themselves as working towards that renewal. Scholars debate how far this was meant as an imminent end, a ritual renewal of the world at each sacrifice, or both; Prods Oktor Skjærvø, for example, has stressed the ritual dimension, while Mary Boyce read the Gathas as announcing a historical end of time.

The Fate of the Soul after Death§

Later Avestan texts and the Middle Persian books fill in the journey of the individual soul in vivid detail. The account is found especially in the Hadokht Nask and in chapter 19 of the Videvdad, and is expanded in Pahlavi works such as the Menog i Khrad (Spirit of Wisdom) and the Dadestan i Denig.

The three nights and the meeting with the daena§

For three nights after death the soul (urvan) remains near the head of the body, reviewing its life: the righteous soul experiences joy, the wicked one fear and grief. At the dawn of the fourth day a wind blows towards it. The righteous soul is met by a fragrant southern breeze and by a radiant young woman, who reveals herself as the soul's own daena — its religious self or conscience, formed by its good thoughts, words and deeds. The wicked soul meets a stinking northern wind and a hideous hag, the embodiment of its evil acts. This image of meeting one's deeds in personal form is among the most distinctive in the tradition.

The Chinvat Bridge and the judges§

The soul then comes to the Chinvat Bridge, which stretches over the abyss of hell towards the mountain of paradise. There it is judged by Mithra, by Sraosha, the divinity of hearing and obedience, and by Rashnu, the "Judge", who weighs good and bad deeds in impartial scales. For the righteous the bridge becomes broad and easy; for the wicked it turns to a narrow blade, and the soul falls into the darkness below. Pahlavi texts add a third, intermediate place, hamestagan, for souls whose good and evil deeds are exactly balanced, where they experience only heat and cold until the end of time.

The righteous soul ascends in three steps, through the stations of Good Thought, Good Word and Good Deed, to the "Endless Lights" and the House of Song (Garodman), where it is welcomed by Vohu Manah and seated in honour. The rituals performed by the living on the third and fourth days after a death are timed to accompany this journey (see towers of silence and Zoroastrian funeral customs).

The Book of Arda Viraf: A Vision of Heaven and Hell§

The most famous Zoroastrian account of the other world is the Arda Viraf Namag, a Middle Persian work whose final form probably dates from the ninth or tenth century, although it draws on older material. It tells how, at a time of religious doubt, the priests chose a man of exceptional piety, Viraf, to journey to the other world and report what he saw. After drinking a draught of wine mixed with mang — a narcotic, often identified with henbane or hemp — he lay as if dead for seven days, while his soul was guided by Sraosha and Adar, the yazata of fire.

Viraf crosses the Chinvat Bridge, sees the hamestagan, rises through the heavens of the stars, moon and sun to Ohrmazd, and is then shown hell, where each punishment matches a sin, from lying and adultery to the pollution of water and fire. Modern readers often compare the book with Dante's Divine Comedy, though no direct link has been demonstrated. Its date and sources are discussed further in the Bundahishn and Pahlavi literature.

The Saoshyants and the Ages of the World§

Zoroastrian cosmic history, as systematised in the Bundahishn and other Pahlavi books, lasts 12,000 years, usually divided into four periods of 3,000 years. The first two belong to creation and to the spiritual and material world before evil entered it; the third is the age of the "mixture", after Ahriman's assault; Zarathustra's revelation falls at the start of the last.

In the final millennia three saviours appear, each a posthumous son of Zarathustra. According to tradition, the prophet's seed is preserved in a lake, usually identified with Lake Kansaoya (the Hamun in Sistan), and at intervals of a thousand years a virgin bathing there conceives. The sons are named in Avestan Ukhshyat-ereta, Ukhshyat-nemah and Astvat-ereta; in Pahlavi Hushedar, Hushedarmah and Soshyans. The last, Astvat-ereta — "he who embodies truth" — is the Saoshyant in the full sense, "the one who will bring benefit". The Young Avestan hymn to the Earth (Yasht 19) already describes him as bringing the world to perfection with his companions.

Middle Persian apocalyptic works such as the Zand i Wahman Yasn add descriptions of the ages of decline, symbolised by a tree with branches of gold, silver, steel and mixed iron, and of heroes who will return to fight at the end, including the immortal Peshotan and the hero Keresaspa, who will rise to slay the dragon Azhi Dahaka.

Resurrection, the Final Ordeal and the Frashokereti§

At the coming of the Soshyans the dead will be raised, an event called in Middle Persian rist-axez, "the rising of the dead". The Bundahishn imagines Ohrmazd asking how bodies scattered by wind and water could be reassembled, and answering that it is easier to rebuild what once existed than to create from nothing: bone is recalled from the earth, blood from water, hair from plants and life from fire.

All humanity is then gathered in a great assembly, where each person sees their own good and evil deeds. The righteous and the wicked are separated, and the metal of the mountains melts and flows over the earth like a river. To the righteous it feels like warm milk; the wicked are burned and purified by it. In a last act of worship the Soshyans performs a sacrifice and prepares a drink, from the fat of a primordial ox and the white haoma, that grants immortality to all (on haoma, see Soma and Haoma). Ahriman and his demons are defeated and destroyed or rendered powerless, the serpent's opening into the world is sealed with molten metal, and hell itself is cleansed and added to the renewed earth.

Here Zoroastrianism differs from many forms of Christianity and Islam: punishment is severe but not eternal. Evil, not the sinner, is annihilated. The theological framework is set out in Ahura Mazda and cosmic dualism.

Eschatology in Zoroastrian Life and Comparative Study§

These beliefs are not only doctrine. The last ten days of the Zoroastrian year, the Farvardigan or Muktad, are devoted to the fravashis, the guardian spirits of the righteous dead, who are believed to return to their homes; families set out flowers, fire and offerings and priests recite prayers in their honour. Funeral rites, the prayers of the fourth dawn and the annual remembrance ceremonies all assume the soul's journey described above. Many modern Zoroastrians interpret the bridge, the daena and the molten metal symbolically, as images of conscience and moral consequence, while traditionalists read them more literally.

Whether this scheme shaped the resurrection, judgment and renewed creation of Daniel, the New Testament and the Qur'an is discussed in Zoroastrian influence on Judaism, Christianity and Islam and, more broadly, in reincarnation and the afterlife.

Frequently asked questions§

What is the Chinvat Bridge?§

The Chinvat Bridge, "Bridge of the Separator", is the crossing at which each soul is judged on the fourth day after death. It widens for the righteous, who pass to paradise, and narrows to a blade for the wicked, who fall into hell. The idea goes back to the Gathas.

Who is the Saoshyant?§

The Saoshyant ("one who brings benefit") is the final Zoroastrian saviour, Astvat-ereta, a posthumous son of Zarathustra born of a virgin at the end of time. He leads the resurrection and the renovation of the world. Tradition also speaks of two earlier saviours who come a thousand years apart.

Do Zoroastrians believe in eternal hell?§

No. Zoroastrian texts describe hell vividly, but it lasts only until the resurrection. At the frashokereti all souls pass through the ordeal of molten metal, evil is destroyed and hell is purified, so that all humanity shares in the renewed world.

What does frashokereti mean?§

Frashokereti (Middle Persian frashegird) means "making wonderful" or "making excellent". It is the final renovation of the world, when evil is removed and creation is restored to the perfection intended by Ahura Mazda.

Sources and further reading§