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Rh sin as to descend into hell, and find their resting-place till the final judgment. The Avestan and Pahlavi texts record in full detail this eschatological doctrine, while the Gathas appear to recognize either in spirit or in the abstract, so that we may be justified in concluding that the concept of the intermediate place was embodied in the teachings of Zarathushtra from the beginning. Whoso wavers between good and evil through his unsteady thoughts, words and deeds will in the end find his place in intermediate region.

The wicked are consigned to perdition. In contradistinction to the Best Existence, the abode of sinners after death is achishta ahu, 'Worst Existence.' The region of hell is called drujo demāna, 'Abode of Wickedness,' or achishtahyā demāna manangho, 'Abode of the Worst Mind.' Darkness is the characteristic trait of the inferno.

The nature of retribution in hell. The Gathic texts casually mention that torment and woe, punishment and sorrow, fall to the lot of the wicked in hell, and that the demons greet the lost souls with foul food. This figurative expression and other poetic metaphors of like nature are taken literally in the later periods, when hell is materialized and the concept of physical torture is systematically worked out. The soul writhes in agony owing to the consciousness of its alienation from Ahura Mazda. Its vicious life proves in the end its own perdition. From day unto day it has made its own hell, and now its own conscience condemns it to the damnation of hell.

Duration of punishment in hell. The Gathas speak of the punishment as lasting for a long period. The idea of eternal