‘Shabda sparsha rupa rasa gandha’ - these are the characteristics of the five elements;Akasha,Vayu,Agni, Jala and Prithvi. Prithvi has all the five elements, Jala has only four, Agni has three, Rupa sparsha and shabda; Vayu has just sparsha and shabda; Akasha has only one, shabda. That is to say, each of these is subtler than the rest and Akasha is the subtlest of all. (GV, p. 148)