Prayers for the Dead

The ancients knew that urine had healing properties—a bit of medical knowledge that would not be fully understood by modern science until the 18th century. Thousands of years before modern antiseptics urine could be used to cleanse a wound and prevent infection. From this it was only a short step to its being used in ritual as a purifying agent. It was followed by washing in water. In general only those who needed to be in a state of high ritual purity, such as priests, or who required cleansing after coming into contact with extreme pollution, such as death, underwent purification rituals with nirang, which is also called gomez, or taro (unconsecrated bull’s urine). It is rarely if ever used today.

At dawn on the third day after death the soul goes to meet the three judges, Mithra, Sraosha, and Rashnu. They judge the soul on its actions in life. It then passes on to the Chinvat Bridge, the Bridge of the Separator. There it meets its daena, the guide who will take it across. She represents the person’s conscience in life. If that life has been righteous daena is beautiful beyond all imagining and is accompanied by a sweet-smelling breeze. If the life has been one of ignorance and evil the guide is an ugly hag with a foul odor. The two move across the bridge. For the righteous the bridge is wide and fl at and leads into eternal joy. For the wicked it becomes narrower and narrower until it is a knife blade, and the wicked soul falls off into the pit of hell.

During this time priests and the family continue with special prayers for the dead. Mourners may continue to recite the Patet, a prayer of repentance, and other prayers in honor and remembrance of the dead person daily for a month or even longer. Their prayers cannot, however, change the fate of the soul, which has been decided according to the dead person’s behavior in life. Excessive mourning is considered a sin in Zoroastrianism. It does not benefit the dead and it harms the health of the living. Zoroastrianism teaches that the dead have moved on to eternal life and that in the final renovation of the world all the dead will rise. People remember the dead, but their duty as Zoroastrians is to live fully in this world and be happy and optimistic. Feast days always include rituals for the dead, but as an occasion for joy, not sorrow.

The Kingdom of the Dead: Silence and Full Exposition