Page "History of physics" Paragraph 18

Important physical and mathematical traditions also existed in ancient Chinese and Indian sciences.

During the Vedic period, Indians ( Indo-Aryans ) had classified the material world into five elements: Earth ( Prithvi ), fire ( Agni ), air ( Maya ) and water ( Apa ), and ether ( Akasha ).

According to some scholars these five elements or pancha mahabhutas were identified with the various human senses of perception ; earth with smell, air with feeling, fire with vision, water with taste and ether with sound.

The Buddhist philosophers who came later, rejected ether as an element and replaced it with life, joy and sorrow.