The Lhagyari is a prominent family that descends from the ancient Yarlung emperors, through the line of Osung, the son of King Tri Udumtsen also known as Langdarma. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the ancestors of the Lhagyari family settled in Eyul in Lhokha, became local rulers and established the family seat at Gyari Castle. During the Ganden Podrang period, the Lhagyari family was categorized as one of five Depon families, a rank of aristocracy that was second only to the Yabzhi families of the Dalai Lamas. The title of Lhagyari traditionally passes down in an investiture ceremony to the eldest son. They are also known as E Lhagyari.