Quamrul Islam Nov 28, 2009:

Thanks to R.T. Pushpa ji for the discussion post Well, in fact there is no such Urdu/Persian word as अश्न (nothing like اشن or عشن). Gulzar Saab is a versatile poet who uses Hindi, Urdu and Persian (and even Sanskrit) diction with equal dexterity. In his Nazm-1857 too, he has used both Hindi and Urdu words whenever and wherever necessary. For example, Gulzar saab has used the Hindi word क्रान्ति, but he has also used its Urdu counterpart इन्क़लाब (انقلاب) several times in this very Nazm. Therefore, it's easy to guess that he has used none other than the Sanskrit word अश्न to mean "cloud": क्रान्ति का अश्न is perhaps "the cloud of revolution".
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In Rigveda, आत्मा has been called अश्न, "voracious", that is, the soul is an omnivorous entity, eating up both good and evil. Now when something is voracious, it is of course pervasive, and thus it still gives the true shade of the meaning. Sanskrit dictionaries give all these three main meanings : (1) Voracious, (2) Pervasive, and (3) Cloud. Interestingly enough, all these three senses are inter-related.

rtpushpa Nov 27, 2009:

Meaning of Urdu word अश्न The meaning is clear in Sanskrit, as provided by Janab Quamrul Islam. Even in Rigveda, Atma is called अश्न. But it would be interesting to know what it means in Urdu, as I find Gulzar has used the word in his Nazm - 1857 as follows:
उस बार मगर कुछ ऐसा हुआ,
क्रान्ति का अश्न तो निकला था
पर थामने वाला कोई ना था,
जाम्बाज़ों के लश्कर पहुंचे, मगर
सालारने वाला कोई ना था