An Investigation into the Reality of Death in Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is one of the religions the followers of which regard themselves as following a monotheistic religion. According to Zoroastrian doctrines, man’s soul does not annihilate with death; it continues to live. From a Zoroastrian point of view, death means the separation of soul and body and man’s transfer into the other world. What distinguishes Zoroastrianism from other monotheistic religions is this religion’s idea about the quiddity of death. The followers hold that death is one of the evils in the world the creator of which is devil and Ahura Mazda has no direct interference in it. Death is imposed on the world’s creatures and a Zoroastrian believer is duty- bound to fight against it and the other evils. The present descriptive-analytical paper is written based on the Avesta and Pahlavi texts and documentations of Zoroastrian scholars. In the end, assuming the monotheistic nature of Zoroastrianism, the author reviews the attribution of these beliefs to the true religion of Zoroastrianism.