Jathara means stomach in Sanskrit. In Hinduism, Jatharagni is the fire within the stomach or it is the digestive fire. It is the fire that helps the functioning of the digestive system of living beings.
As per Hinduism there are four types of Agni or fire
- The fire from firewood etc on earth
- The celestial fire like lightning
- The fire in the body like the jatharagni which converts food into energy
- Fire inside earth and found in metals like gold.
As per Hinduism, the fire within our stomach converts the food eaten by us into energy. This energy sustains us and prompts us to action.
Food has to reach the belly at regular intervals, otherwise there will be hunger. If there was nothing called hunger, then perhaps all the activities in this world would come to a halt.
As per Adi Shankaracharya, human beings indulge in several activities to satisfy hunger.