Rashnu- Persian GodDeity"The Just"
Also known as: Rashn
Description
Rashnu weighs souls with golden scales at the Chinvat Bridge, and his judgment cannot be swayed. Neither wealth nor royal blood tips the balance, only the actual measure of good deeds against evil.
Mythology & Lore
The Golden Scales
On the fourth day after death, when the soul reaches the Chinvat Bridge, Rashnu is waiting. He holds golden scales and weighs every deed the dead have done: good thoughts, good words, good deeds on one side; their opposites on the other. The Rashnu Yasht describes him judging without favor. Kings step before him and find their crowns mean nothing. Priests step before him and find their prayers weighed against their conduct. He cannot be flattered, bribed, or deceived.
He judges alongside Mithra, who knows whether oaths were kept, and Sraosha, who knows whether devotions were sincere. Between the three of them, nothing is hidden.
The Chinvat Bridge
The Hadokht Nask describes what follows the weighing. The Chinvat Bridge spans the abyss between the earthly realm and the afterlife, and its nature changes according to Rashnu's verdict. For the righteous, the bridge opens wide and leads to the House of Song. For the wicked, it narrows to a razor's edge, and they fall into the House of Lies. Those whose deeds balance exactly proceed to Hamestagan, a neutral realm between paradise and punishment, where they wait.
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