While on exile Arjuna went on a long journey towards the east and finally reached Manipur. Chitravahana was then the king of Manipur. He gave him a warm welcome and Arjuna decided to stay with him for a while. Chitravahana had a beautiful daughter, Chitrangada. Arjuna was fascinated by Chitrangada's beauty and decided to marry her. So he approached Chitravahana asking for Chitrangada's hand in marriage.

The king was happy, but he put a condition for the marriage. "Chitrangada is my only child and I do not have an heir to continue my dynasty. So, I have decided to adopt her son. If you plan to marry Chitrangada, you must give me her son who will be the crown prince of my kingdom." Arjuna accepted the condition and married Chitrangada. Finally, a son was born after three years whom Chitravahana adopted. Then Arjuna continued his journey, as expected, leaving Chitrangada in Manipur.

Chitrangada, in the Mahabharat, is simply a princess of Manipur. Her father has no sons and so he allows her to marry Arjun provided Arjun does not claim the children born of the union. It suggests a kind of matriarchal society, where the daughter's children become heirs. Later, Chitrangada's son, Babruvahan, fails to recognize Arjun, and defeats (kills) him in battle.

This story shows us that in Mahabharata women were not just props.

Here Chitrangada is the heir to her father's kingdom.
And thus was not allowed to marry into another kingdom.. if not for Arjuna she would have brought a husband to her home Kingdom.
Arjun's devotion to his cause didn't allow him to stay at one place.

She a person that was trained in the politics and educated as a leader and not just used a a person who bore the Kingdom an heir .