Jala

Jala or āpaḥ is the fourth of the five gross elements, whose quality is taste, and which by inheritance carries form, touch and sound as well. In Vedic literature the waters are called mothers and healers, and in the hymns of creation it is the primal water upon which Nārāyaṇa reclines — in the Bhagavata too the cosmic egg lies upon the waters for a thousand years (SB 2.5.34). At SB 2.5.28 its origin is given from the transformation of fire, so that the sequence of elements advances from subtle to gross, adding one quality at each step.

Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa 2.5.28 — Sanskrit Wikisource (pinned oldid=200167)