Judging by the Sanskrit term laṅghita (“overstepped, transgressed”) and its rendering into Tibetan as bsgom, which might be derived from gom (“to step or walk”), the meaning may be connected with a hex whose negative effects are felt if stepped over or on.

In Dhāraṇī literature, the term is frequently used to denote a type of hostile magic. Given the use of verb for “stepping over” or “passing over” (Skt. √laṅgh; Tib. sgom), it would appear that the negative effect is triggered when the object in question is traversed in some way.