South India and her Muhammadan Invaders c13.s1.25.4

c13.s1.25.4

The whole word therefore is Kannaḍa pronunciation of Trichinopoly, which must be the locality of the battle in which Vīra Ballāḷa III fell.² We have a more or less circumstantial account of this transaction from Ibn Batuta, who was in the country at the time, and was in Madura soon after. The battle took place apparently as was stated already between Gyathu-d-din, the Sultan of Madura and a relative of Ibn Batuta, and Vīra Ballāḷa III. But Ibn Batuta calls the place of battle Cobban, the nearest South Indian equivalent of which could be only Koppam. With this particular record of Vīra Ballāḷa before us we must of necessity look out for a Koppam of some strategical importance to have become the scene of such constant wars between the Muhammadans and the Hoysalas. Luckily for us we have a reference to a Koppam in an inscription of Jaṭāvarman Sundara Pāṇḍya I. In the preamble to this inscription¹ he refers to the place Kaṇṇanūr as Kaṇṇanūr-Koppam. And this is obviously the Koppam, or Cobban of Ibn Batuta. In connection with this identificaton it must be borne in mind that according to the account of this Muhammadan traveller who certainly did know what he was describing, this Cobban was a place of vital strategical importance; for, according to him, if Cobban fell the position of the Muhammadans in Madura, would have become impossible. To this description Kaṇṇanūr would answer very well.