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Viracocha. . . Viracocha (in hispanicized spelling) or Wiraqucha (Quechua, the name of a god) was the eighth Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco (beginning around 1410) and the third of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Yawar Waqaq, and his son was Pachacuti. His original name was Hatun Tupaq or Ripaq; he was named after the god Viracocha after having visions of the god. His wife's name was Mama Runu.

Events in Viracocha Inka's life have been recorded by several Spanish writers. The source closest to the original indigenous accounts comes from Juan de Betanzos, a Spanish commoner who rose to prominence by marrying an Inka princess and becoming the foremost translator for the colonial government of Cusco. Traditional oral histories of the Inka have been recorded by the Spanish Jesuit Bernabe Cobo. According to these accounts, including a widely recognized sixteenth century chronology written by Miguel Cabello Balboa, Viracocha Inka was a "warlike" and "valiant" prince. As a young man, Viracocha declared that after he took the throne "he would conquer half the world."

However, in 1438, when according to Cobo, the Chanka offensive took place, Viracocha fled the attack with three of his sons, including his designated successor Inka Urqon. A younger son,m Inka Cusi Yupanki refused to retreat. Instead he remained at the capital and faced the Chanka successfully capturing several of their leaders. Inka Yupanki would later skin the captives' bodies in celebration, the remains of whom Pizzaro would later see on display. Before doing so, however, the young Yupanki presented the bodies to his father Viracocha Inka so that he could perform a ritual of wiping his feet on them.

Viracocha Inka rebutted his son's offer, advising him that the foot-wiping honor actually belonged to the next Inka: Urqon. "To this," states Betanzos "Inka Yupanki answered that he was begging his father to tread on the prisoners." The standoff quickly escalated until Viracocha Inka devised a plan to murder his son. The scheme failed when Yupanki was made aware of the plot. Viracocha Inka then retreated into exile, and Yupanki returned to Cusco. There, he claimed the throne, declared his name Pachakuti-World Shaker and began conquering several adjacent territories.

According to some, such as Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Viracocha's father Yawar Waqaq abandoned the capital under the attack of the Chankas; Viracocha defeated the enemy and saved the city. Others, such as Pedro Cieza de León and Juan de Betanzos, claim that Viracocha abandoned the city and that his son Pachacuti saved it. One chronicler, Sarmiento de Gamboa, states that Viracocha was the first Incan to rule the territories he conquered, while his predecessors merely raided and looted them.