The Chinvat Bridge (

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

: 𐬗𐬌𐬥𐬬𐬀𐬙𐬋 𐬞𐬈𐬭𐬈𐬙𐬏𐬨 ''Cinvatô Peretûm'', "bridge of judgement" or "beam-shaped bridge") or the Bridge of the Requiter in

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

is the sifting

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. All

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

s must cross the bridge upon death. The bridge is guarded by two four-eyed dogs, described in the ''Videvdat'' (

Vendidad The Vendidad /ˈvendi'dæd/ or Videvdat or Videvdad is a collection of texts within the greater compendium of the Avesta. However, unlike the other texts of the Avesta, the ''Vendidad'' is an ecclesiastical code, not a liturgical manual. Name ...

) 13,9 as 'spâna pəšu.pâna' ("two bridge-guarding dogs"). The Bridge's appearance varies depending on the observer's

asha Asha (; also arta ; ae, 𐬀𐬴𐬀, translit=aṣ̌a/arta) is a Zoroastrian concept with a complex and highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of 'truth' and 'right(eousness)', 'ord ...

, or righteousness. As related in the text known as the

Bundahishn ''Bundahishn'' (Avestan: , "Primal Creation") is the name traditionally given to an encyclopedic collection of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known. Although the ''Bundahishn'' ...

, if a person has been wicked, the bridge will appear narrow and the demon Chinnaphapast will emerge and drag their soul into the druj-demana (the House of Lies), a place of eternal punishment and suffering similar to the concept of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. If a person's good thoughts, words and deeds in life are many, the bridge will be wide enough to cross, and the

Daena Daēnā () is a Zoroastrian concept representing insight and revelation, hence "conscience" or "religion." Alternately, ''Daena'' is considered to be a divinity, counted among the ''yazata''s. Nomenclature Daena is a feminine noun which translat ...

, a spirit representing revelation, will appear and lead the soul into the House of Song. Those souls that successfully cross the bridge are united with

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...

. Often, the Chinvat Bridge is identified with the rainbow, or with the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

galaxy, such as in Professor C.P. Tiele's "History of Religion ". However, other scholars such as C.F. Keary and

Ferdinand Justi Ferdinand Justi (2 June 1837 in Marburg, Germany – 17 February 1907 in Marburg) was a German linguist and Orientalist. He finished his studies of linguistics at the University of Marburg and the University of Göttingen. In 1861 he lived in Ma ...

disagree with this interpretation, citing descriptions of the Chinvat Bridge as straight upward, rather than curvilinear. Three divinities are thought to be guardians of the Chinvat Bridge:

Sraosha Sraosha ( ae, 𐬯𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬴𐬀 or ) is the Avestan name of the Zoroastrian ''yazata'' of "Conscience" and "Observance", which is also the literal meaning of his name. In the Middle Persian commentaries of the 9th-12th centuries, the div ...

(Conscience),

Mithra Mithra ( ae, ''Miθra'', peo, 𐎷𐎰𐎼 ''Miça'') commonly known as Mehr, is the Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the sun. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing ...

(Covenant) and

Rashnu Rashnu ( ae, 𐬭𐬀𐬴𐬢𐬏) is the Avestan language name of the Zoroastrian ''yazata'' of justice. Together with Mithra and Sraosha, Rashnu is one of the three judges who pass judgment on the souls of people after death. Rashnu's standard ...

(Justice). Alternate names for this bridge include Chinwad, Cinvat, Chinvar or Chinavat. The concept of the Chinvat bridge is similar to that of the

As-Sirāt As-Sirāt ( ar, الصراط ''aṣ-ṣirāṭ'') is, according to Islam, the bridge which every human must pass on the Yawm al-Qiyamah ("Day of Resurrection") to enter Paradise. It is mentioned in the Quran, and is described in hadith. As- ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

In scripture

In the 71st chapter of the Avestan text, the

Yasna Yasna (;"Yasna"
''

also describes the Chinvat Bridge in fargard 19.

In literature

Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...

's second part of the trilogy Poena Damni

With the People from the Bridge ''With the People from the Bridge'' (Greek: ''Με τους ανθρώπους από τη γέφυρα'') is the second part of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy by Greek author Dimitris Lyacos. The book deals with the theme of loss and the return of ...

alludes to the Chinvat Bridge. In the book a bridge functions as part of the setting of a makeshift performance but also as a narrative element that connects the world of the living with the world of the dead. American poet Charles Olson references the Chinvat Bridge ("Cinvat" in his reading) in his epic, The Maximus Poems; a work which deals with Avestan mythology, among numerous others.

In visual culture

Drawing of the Eastern Wall of the Sogdian Wirkak’s Sarcophagus

Representations of bridges on early medieval Sogdian funerary couches have been identified as the Chinvat Bridge. The most notable of these appears on the east wall of the funerary couch of the ''sabao'' Wirkak excavated at Xi'an, but another fragmentary depiction appears on the funerary couch in the Miho Museum.Grenet, Frantz. "Mary Boyce's Legacy for the Archaeologists." ''Bulletin of the Asia Institute,'' New Series, 22 (2008): 29-46 (illustrated on page 42). https://www.jstor.org/stable/24049233.

Yazidi parallel

Yazidism Yazidism , alternatively Sharfadin is a Monotheism, monotheistic ethnic religion that has roots in a western Ancient Iranian religion, Iranic pre-Zoroastrian religion directly derived from the Indo-Iranians, Indo-Iranian tradition. It is follow ...

, the

Silat Bridge In Yazidism, the Silat Bridge is a bridge in Lalish, Iraq that leads to the most holy Yazidi shrine. It symbolizes the connection and crossing over from the profane earthly world and the sacred, esoteric world. As with the Chinvat Bridge in Zoro ...

is a bridge in Lalish that leads to the most holy Yazidi shrine. It symbolizes the connection and crossing over from the profane earthly world and the sacred, esoteric world. As in Zoroastrianism, the Silat Bridge in will also play a role at the end of times in Yazidism (Kreyenbroek 2005: 39).

References

{{reflist Zoroastrian eschatology Afterlife Locations in ancient Iranian mythology Mythological bridges Mythological places

In scripture

In literature

In visual culture

Yazidi parallel

See also

References