In Vedantic Hinduism, Akasha means the basis and essence of all things in the material world; the first element created. A Vedic mantra “"pṛthivyāpastejovāyurākāśāt"” indicates the sequence of initial appearance of the five basic gross elements. Thus, first appeared the space, from which appeared air, from that fire or energy, from which the water, and therefrom the earth. It is one of the "Panchamahabhuta", or "five gross elements"; its main characteristic is "Shabda" (sound). The direct translation of Akasha is the word meaning "upper sky" or 'space' in Hinduism.