Btsan are warrior demons who live in the mountains of Ladakh and Tibet. They wear red silk with leather helmets, carry red lances with blood-soaked pendants, and ride red horses.

From the front, they look like human beings, but from behind, their backs appear to have been ripped away, exposing all their bloody internal organs. The unlucky sight of this horror can cause illness and death. Most Btsan are very malefic, and only very great sages can hope to pacify them or calm them. However, they can sometimes be held captive in cages made of iron.

Legends tell of vast armies of Btsan warriors who ride invisibly across the land. If a house obstructs the path of one of these campaigns, it can bring disastrous luck, as the occupants will be struck by the Btsans’ poisoned arrows.

Probably India’s best-known Btsan are the Seven Rong-Btsan Brothers, who are guardian spirits of Ladakh. These demons were originally from Bodh Gaya in what is now Bihar. They were once wild and ferocious. They caused so much trouble that eventually they were caught and imprisoned in an iron cage. Later on they managed to escape and travel to Tibet, where they caused much havoc. But after a while they got homesick and decided to make their way back towards Bodh Gaya.

On the way they passed through Ladakh, and they found it very beautiful. Two of the brothers stopped at the Ladakhi town of Gya and decided to remain there. Another two stayed at Matho; another two at Stok; and the last one at Skyurbuchan.

In each of these places there is now a famous monastery over which the Btsan preside.

Ref: 458. Dollfus, Pascale. (2006). The Seven Rongtsan Brothers in Ladakh, Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 36-37 | 373-406.