Praśna Upaniṣad · 2..2

तस्मै स होवाचाकाशो ह वा एष देवो वायुरग्निरापः पृथिवी वाङ्मनश्चक्षुः शroत्रं च ते प्रकाश्याभिवदन्ति वयमेतद्बाणमवष्ठभ्य विधारयाम इति

tasmai sa hovācākāśo ha vā eṣa devo vāyuragnirāpaḥ pṛthivī vāṅmanaścakṣuḥ śrotraṃ ca te prakāśyābhivadanti vayametadbāṇamavaṣṭabhya vidhārayāma iti

To him he replied: Ether, verily, is that god; wind, fire, water, earth, speech, mind, eye and ear also. They, manifesting their glory, said proudly: “We support and maintain this body”.

Here are identified the “gods” that support the living being. They are:

  1. Ākāśa — ether, space
  2. Vāyu — air, wind
  3. Agni — fire
  4. Āpas — water
  5. Pṛthivī — earth

The five elements (pañca-mahābhūta), plus:

  1. Vāk — speech
  2. Manas — mind
  3. Cakṣuṣ — eye
  4. Śrotra — ear

The four organs of knowledge (jñānendriya), plus speech as representative of the organs of action (karmendriya).

These principles, personified, declare with pride that they support the “body” (bāṇa — literally “arrow,” here a metaphor for the body). Each one believes itself indispensable, each one affirms its importance. This is the fragmented conception of existence, where components do not see the whole.