The historical dating of the Sthānāṅga Sūtra rests in a space of careful scholarly inference rather than absolute certainty. Jain tradition situates it close to the time of Mahāvīra, in the broad vicinity of the 6th century BCE or shortly thereafter, as part of the earliest strata of Āgamic literature. This traditional view underscores the text’s perceived intimacy with the living memory of the Tīrthaṅkara and the early community, even if such attribution functions more as a statement of spiritual authority than as a precise chronological claim.

Modern academic inquiry, however, tends to place the composition and compilation of the Sthānāṅga Sūtra significantly later. The prevailing scholarly view locates its formation roughly between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE, during a period when Jain canonical materials were being systematically organized and codified. Within this framework, the text is understood not as a single momentary creation, but as the outcome of a long process of oral transmission, gradual accretion, and eventual redaction.

This layered history suggests that the Sthānāṅga Sūtra may preserve earlier teachings while bearing the imprint of the community’s evolving intellectual and spiritual concerns. Its status as the second of the twelve Aṅgas reflects both its canonical authority and its role in structuring key domains of Jain knowledge. To contemplate its date, therefore, is not merely to fix a point on a historical timeline, but to recognize a living tradition slowly crystallizing into textual form, carrying forward memory, doctrine, and method across generations.