The miracle of Chador Yabyum statues of the Chador Lhakhang at Bartsham:

Few years after his children had married and settled in different regions of eastern Bhutan, Khar Khoche sent for them. He wanted to divide his property before his death.Soon after getting the message, children arranged best gifts for their father with the intension of gaining his favour in getting the property they wanted. The son who married a woman from Bartsham Yangkhar in Trashigang was not as wealthy as his siblings. But he immediately travelled to Khar to see his father, taking a palang of arra and a few dre of maize. The father was so happy to see him arrive first and asked him to name his choice of property. He chose the statues of Chador Yabyum (phyag rdor yab yum). Other children who all wanted the same statues were not happy.

Back home he made an altar and made daily offerings to the statues. His fortune increased and he slowly gained community influence. The statues even blessed him with many children. Later, his house came to be known as the Chador Lhakhang and his descendants, Yangkhar Khoche.

The first Trongsa Penlop, Chogyal Minjur Tenpa heard about the statues and forcefully took them to Trongsa Dzong. But many inauspicious signs were witnessed such as falling of many other statues from altar down to the floor. The Penlop realized Trongsa had no lungten (lung ston) to keep the statues and immediately returned them to Yangkhar.

It is said that the statues were once lost when the people of Yangkhar, including the lhakhang caretaker (dkon gnyer), abandoned the village to escape the Tibetan invasion of Bhutan in the eighteenth century. When they returned after the defeat of Tibetans, they found the statues missing. The people searched everywhere but to no avail. Later they were found abandoned at Monglen. The caretaker found them beneath a giant tree. As soon as he saw them, one of the statues spoke, “I am here, come”. Frightened, the caretaker ran for help. But when he returned in the morning with friends, one statue, Chador Yum, was missing. It is believed that the missing statue is now beneath the Monglen Lake. A man from Yangla who stole the statues was resting on the summit of Bartsham Mountain when the place was struck by a sudden hailstorm. A thick black cloud enveloped everything. He took a shelter inside an opening beneath a huge rock. When the wind began to uproot trees and break branches, he ran to his village, abandoning the statues.

There was once a lake called Yutsang Wang in Khar Bong Dung. When the lake was about to dry, Khar Dung Gyalpo (‘khar gdung rgyal po) found the statues of Chador Yab Yum. It is believed the statues were hidden as a hidden treasure (gter) by Pema Lingpa.

When Chador Yabyum was with Khar Dung Gyalpo, his descendents spread all over eastern Bhutan, his riches almost equaled that of the king of wealth, and his fame was louder than thunder.