Sacred Rock Art and Living Rituals on the Konkan Coast: An Ethnoarchaeological Study of the Devihasol Petroglyph Landscape

Dhananjay S. Khandare

This paper examines a living ritual tradition embedded within the coastal cultural landscape of the Konkan region, western India, focusing on the annual convergence ritual of the goddesses Navadurga (Devihasol) and Aryadurga (Bhalavali) in Taluka Rajapur, District Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Central to this ritual is a cluster of prehistoric petroglyphs located near the Devihasol temple, which functions as a sacred locus linking deep-time archaeological remains with contemporary religious practice. Situated along the Konkan littoral, the region represents a long-standing zone of ecological adaptation and symbolic engagement with the coastal environment. Drawing on ethnographic methods, including participant observation, interviews with local priests and devotees, documentation of oral traditions, and photographic recording, this study documents the performative dimensions of the ritual, such as landscape-based processions, joint puja ceremonies, communal feasting, and the distribution of offerings. These practices demonstrate how ancient rock art continues to structure sacred space, cosmological belief, and social cohesion in a coastal setting. By integrating archaeological perspectives on prehistoric petroglyphs with ethnographic and mythological analysis, this paper explores how sacred imagery and coastal landscapes are reactivated through ritual to sustain cultural memory and community identity. The convergence of Aryadurga and Navadurga reflects local conceptions of divine power, ancestral presence, and ecological intimacy with the coastal environment.