Was Sacsayhuaman a sacrificial altar of three sacred fires known as Agnitraya in the Vedic texts written in Sanskrit?

In Sacsayhuaman, commonly known as ¨La Fortaleza¨ or ¨other temple of Sun ¨(1), most probably existed the pre-Inca megalithic ruin of the Agnitraya, sacrificial altar of three sacred fires, the area which description existed only in Sanskrit, a classical language of South Asia belnging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages, which arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had difused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age (accoriding to the definition from the wikipedia. org). Agnitraya (in Sanskrit: ´the triad of fires´ or tretagni - the sacrificial altar of three sacred fires (representing three faces of Agni, the god of fire during pre-Vedic times) was mentioned in Puranas, the epic Ramayana, and was the meating point for heros of the Pandavas and Kurus in the epic Mahabharata, etc. As such has an unequalled importance for many cultures throughout South Asia and the followers of culture and religious traditions in the world (Jain, Buddhism, and others). Its design was given in the Katyayana Sulba-Sutra written two hundred of years BPE.(2) The Sulbasutras deal with geometrical constructions for Vedic rituals at precisely constructed altars, and are popularly believed have been composed at the end of the Vedic age. Of these, Baudhayana's Sulbasutra is believed to date to the 8th century B.C. (authors including Apastamba, Manava, Katyayana,Satyasadha Hiranyakesin, Vadhula, Varaha and Kathaka composed sulbasutras as well, although the chronological order in which these texts were composed remains unknown as yet) (3). Therefore, the age of the megalithic structure could be placed at some point in time during or even before the first millenium b.C.; a reliable archeological evidence and investigation is necessary to make such a determination. We propose that Sacsayhuaman megalithic base and the original Agnitraya towers was a creation of the Merumaha culture (the term coined by us) in the pre-Inca times. The name comes from the term ´Mount Meru´ ( known also as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru), which is the center of the Universe (vortex, axis mundi) according the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmology (2). We also hope that that 15th century a.D. date of construction of the Sacsayhuaman (currently commonly accepted date) would have been reconsidered after our thesis would had been elaborated by experts at some future point in time. Additionally, given amount of scrutiny, analysis, etc. which the Spanish chronicles received up to date, many historians have often expressed doubt or even have questioned reliabilty or scientific value of the information provided by these texts (errors, discrepancies and inconclusive observations abound; see discussion in texts of C. Julien, J.H.Rowe, M. Ziolkowski, etc. The form of the sacrificial altar, according to the Katyayana Sulba-Sutra, is somewhat similar to the 2D form of a traditional ´drum´ laid on a side called Vedi, within which three fire areas which are located (see google earth image below of an area approx. 100m by 200m). The Vedi (¨La Fortaleza¨) also has the form similar to that of the sacred ¨drum¨ (approx. 200m by 400m); individual ¨towers¨ were built as follows: * Garhapatya — known as Muyucmarca (the remains of the rock foundation of this tower which has three concentric walls is the only visible and identifiable part of the Agnitraya structure now; according to the Katyayana Sulba-Sutra, the circular shaped altar had to be located on the Western side of the sacred ´drum´ shaped area where precisely it can be observed today; it was probably used by the class of Inca priests; most of the excavations come from this area and nearby sector of ruins. (4) * Āhavanīya - known as Paucamarca, was an altar with a square shape - the four sides of this square represented the four major directions of space: north, south, east, and west. The āhavanīya altar had to be located in the eastern portion of the larger Vedic sacrificial arena. Specifications for the construction, location, and use of the āhavanīya are found in the Yajur-veda. (4) * Daksina - known as Sallacmarca, was the altar which had a semi-circular shape; according to the Katyayana Sulba-Sutra it should face the Southern direction; it was probably used by the aristocracy and warrior´class. (5) The basis for the argument that the Muyucmarca (Garhapatya in Sanskrit) were a sacrificial altar are as follows: a. Llanos, L. and Franco Hinojosa, F.M. 1940, p. 29: The cultural stratum shows both the human remains, ceramics, funerary equipment and architecture belong to the Inca period. This finding tomb U, like the other tomb K, put in the following alternative: the¨ people were sacrificed in the construction of Muyuqmarka or, buried for their merits instead of so much importance”. (6) b. Roberto Samanez A. and Anthropologist Alfredo Valencia Z; They entrusted the Anthropologist Fidel Ramos Condori (1982, p. 4): ¨We were about to shore up and at that moment there was a landslide from the upper part and exposed the remains of human bones. A sheet of Aqorasi and another of tumi were associated with two metallic objects ”. Fidel Ramos Condori created the hypothesis (based on the findings of human skeleton) that it could be pre-Inca burials that were carried out taking advantage of the natural slope of the slope, before the construction of the Inca bastions and that the access openings the funeral urns were to be located towards the north side. His hipothesis was supported by anthropologists Arminda Gibaja and the archaeologist Alfredo Valencia Z., both familiar with excavations of tombs in Saqsaywamán. (7) c. Archaeologist Mónica Paredes García, (2001, p. 35) who performs archaeological excavations in the sub. Sector "C" next to the rocky outcrop called "huaca", excavating on the platform of platform I on the west side of Muyuqmarka, found 14 tombs as well as numerous offerings, some associated with the tomb, and concluded that the sector had a ceremonial importance, in addition, they indicate that the fact that some of the tombs have been associated with secondary burials. The author D. Ernesto Garcia C. thinks that the ceremonial practices on this platform are events that have been taking place for long periods of time. (8) We hope that further archeolgical investigation will confirm existance of two other altars in Sacsayhuaman and that they were associated with sarificial rituals, in a similar way in which the Muyucmarka had been used. We are looking forward to do more investigation and perhaps confirmation that all of these sacrificial area were constructed according to the design rules spelled out by Katyayana Sulba-Sutra and other sutras documents. Nontheless, the most important guide to confirm this thesis is to look for the rule that three geometric shapes: circle, semi-circle and a square had to have the same area. We are hoping that the archeological evidence confirms existence and point to use of a design pattern in these the Agnitraya altars in the Andean Zone of the continent; my comparative research is pointing in this directon. we are going to show that these altars not only existed in Qusco, but generally speaking in Peru (where the symbol of Chacana has been associated with the oldest rituals and resultuing designs shich had been executed by the mahameru culture (contrary to some sceptics who try to suggest that this symbol is a modern invention). Finally, we had located the oldest version of the colossal size altar in Copiapo, Norte Grande in Chile, as well as in other locations in Chile, where from many of these ancient pre-historic innovations were introduced in South America (and until today were not propery investigated and documented). It is probable that the Vedic epoch´s sailors reached South America before the first millennium a.D. and wrote about their experiences (and it is also very likely that a record of such an event might have been lost forever). Upon return to their port in South Asia they wrote a text which we know from the English translation since the 19th century; therefore I must conclude that the Sanskrit terms and a description of the Agnitraya´s details, etc. in Sanskrit texts, were created by witnesses and not creators of the Agnitraya. We are hoping that the archeological evidence confirms existence and point to use of a design pattern in these the Agnitraya altars in the Andean Zone of the continent; my comparative research is pointing in this directon. Inferring that the tradition was a part of the cultural pattern developed by the indigenous habitants around the oficial date of entry of Asians to the Americas (approx. 24 milleniums BPE) - we might be able to show existance of a sophisticated culture (e.g. construction of systems of canals, ritual landscape, colossal pyramids, complex ceremonial centers, oldest burial traditions, etc.) with use of reports by experts and researchers, in many urban centers and rural areas in today´s Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Chile (from where these traditions seem to had come from). We propose to call this complex a Merumaha culture, yet to be identified in its all cultural and technological advancements. In doing so, we only follow the path other researchers who for last two centuries have reported these advancements which marked all remaining six continents as described in Bhavata Purana and Padma Purana (that is Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, and Rasatala). Hopefully more archeological excavations, Lidar observations, etc. will confirm our thesis. Our correct observations and logically derived conclusions were based on principles used in space archeology, geoarcheology, astroarchaeology, etc., but are necessarily of limited potential in showing that actual conditions conform to our thesis until more data is gathered - therefore, until then, our findings are of an aesthetic nature and do not constitute a proof until further notice.

Notes: 1. M.Ziolkowski - El calendario metropolitano del estdo Inca - 2015 2. www.wikipedia. org Coricancha consulted in september of 2021 3. The Sun - Sulbasutras: Indian Texts on Sacred Geometry 2013 4. www.Wisdomlib.org consulted in september of 2021 5. DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary consulted in september of 2021 6. D. ERNESTO GARCÍA CALDERÓN - Saqsaywamán: Revalorización del sitio prehispánico, a través de las investigaciones arqueológicas y etnohistóricas en el sector de Muyuqmarka. Doctoral thesis 2018 7. D. E. Garcia Calderon - Saqsaywaman... 8. D. E. Garcia Calderon - Saqsaywaman...