[1] Traditionally ascribed to Bhadrabahu, which would place it in the 4th century BCE,[2] it was probably put in writing 980 or 993 years after the Nirvana (Moksha) of Mahavira.

Within the six sections of the Jain literary corpus belonging to the Śvetāmbara school, it is classed as one of the Cheda Sūtras.

This Sutra contains detailed life histories and, from the mid-15th century, was frequently illustrated with miniature painting.

[3] The Kalpa Sutra is ascribed to Bhadrabahu, traditionally said to have composed it some 150 years after the Nirvāṇa (samadhi) of Mahavira.

[4] The book is read and illustrated in an eight-day-long festival of Paryushan by Jain monks for general people.