What is Konkan region?

The word Konkan is derived from Kuṅkaṇ or Kuṅkaṇu. Different authorities explain etymology of this word differently. Some include: Koṇ meaning top of the mountain. Name of aboriginal mother goddess, which is sometimes sanskritised to mean goddess Renuka. Thus the name Konkane, comes from the word Konkaṇ, which means the people of Konkan. Konkan or the Konkan Coast is a rugged section of the western coastline of India. It is a 720 km long coastline. It consists of the coastal districts of Maharashtra, and Goa. The ancient sapta-Konkan is a slightly larger region described in the Sahyadrikhanda which refers to it as "Parashuramakshetra".

The precise definition of Konkan varies-it is roughly the land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, and between the Tapi river in the north and the Chandragiri river in the south. It includes several districts, including Thane, Mumbai, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, North Goa, South Goa.The Gabit, Gauda, Kuruba, Aagari and Kunbi tribals of Konkan are among the original settlers in the region. Tribal communities in Konkan include Konkana, Warli and Kolcha in Southern Gujarat, Dadra and Nagarhaveli and Thane district of Maharashtra. Katkaris are found more in Raigad and also some in Ratnagiri district.

The Sahyadri Mountain range ("Western Ghats") forms the eastern boundary of the Konkan, and the Arabian Sea marks the western boundary. The southern boundary is the Gangavali River. The Mayura River forms the northern boundary.

The Gangavali flows in the district of ("Uttara Kannada") in present-day "Karnataka State"; the cis-Gangavali portion (seen from Bombay) of this district is the southernmost part of the Konkan. The towns of Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honavar and Bhatkal fall within the Konkan. The exact identity of the Mayura River, the northern limits of the historic Konkan, is indeterminate.