आस

Meaning

Hope, expectation, longing, or reliance.

Detailed Meaning

'Aas' denotes hope, expectation, or reliance on a desirable outcome. In this couplet, it stands in poetic contrast to 'yaas' (despair), emphasizing how the bewildered soul, entirely hopeless in life, finds its sole remaining anticipation in death. Death thus becomes an ironic source of solace and deliverance.

Etymology

Derived from Sanskrit आशा (āśā), meaning hope or wish, through Prakrit into Hindustani.

Usage

In classical ghazal poetry, 'aas' is frequently juxtaposed with the Arabic-origin 'yaas' (despair) for linguistic symmetry and thematic tension.

Examples

Synonyms

Related Words