Harishchandra started living in penury with his wife and his family. His loyal subjects followed him. When Vishwamitra saw the king with his subjects, he started cursing Harishchandra for taking along his subjects (who were a part of the kingdom donated to the sage). The king then decided to leave the kingdom with his family. To make them go away sooner, Vishwamitra started beating the queen with a stick. When the five guardians of the directions saw this, they condemned Vishwamitra. The sage cursed them to take birth as human beings. These guardian deities were born as the sons of the Pandavas and Draupadi.