Vedanta (; Sanskrit: वेदान्त, IAST: Vedānta), also Uttara Mīmāṃsā, is one of the six (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy
Literally meaning “end of the Vedas”, Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation
Vedanta contains many sub-traditions on the basis of a common textual connection called the Prasthanatrayi: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita
All Vedanta schools, in their deliberations, concern themselves with, but differ in their views regarding, ontology, soteriology and epistemology
The main traditions of Vedanta are: Bhedabheda (difference and non-difference), as early as the 7th century CE, or even the 4th century CE
Some scholars are inclined to consider it as a “tradition” rather than a school of Vedanta
Dvaitādvaita or Svabhavikabhedabheda (dualistic non-dualism), founded by Nimbarka in the 7th century CE Achintya Bheda Abheda (inconceivable one-ness and difference), founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534 CE), propagated by Gaudiya Vaishnava Advaita (monistic), most prominent Gaudapada (~500 CE) and Adi Shankaracharya (8th century CE) Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism), prominent scholars are Nathamuni, Yāmuna and Ramanuja (1017–1137 CE) Akshar Purushottam Darshan (Akshar and Purushottam), founded by Swaminarayan (1781-1830 CE), rooted in Ramanuja’s Vishishtadvaita Tattvavada (Dvaita) (realistic point of view or dualism), founded by Madhvacharya (1199–1278 CE)
The prominent scholars are Jayatirtha (1345-1388 CE), and Vyasatirtha (1460–1539 CE) Suddhadvaita (purely non-dual), founded by Vallabha (1479–1531 CE)Modern developments in Vedanta include Neo-Vedanta, and the growth of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya
All of these schools, except Advaita Vedanta and Neo-Vedanta, are related to Vaishavism and emphasize devotion, regarding Vishnu or Krishna or a related manifestation, to be the highest Reality
While Advaita Vedanta attracted considerable attention in the West due to the influence of Hindu modernists like Swami Vivekananda, most of the other Vedanta traditions are seen as discourses articulating a form of Vaishnava theology