The word Vedanta means the end of Veda. Vedanta is a study of the last part of Veda, the Upanishads; The philosophy of Upanishads is codified in sutra form in Brahma sutra by Badarayana ( Vyasa ). These Sutras have been variously explained by different commentators. The several schools of philosophy are only different attempts at discovering the Truth. From these interpretations have arisen several schools of philosophy, viz., Kevala Advaita philosophy of Sri Sankaracharya, the philosophy of Qualified Monism or Visishtadvaita of Sri Ramanujacharya, the Dvaita philosophy of Sri Madhavacharya, the Bhedabheda philosophy of Sri Nimbarkacharya, the Suddha Advaita (pure non-dual) philosophy of Sri Vallabhacharya. The Achintya Bhedabheda philosophy of Sri Chaitanya and the Siddhanta philosophy of Sri Meykandar

Each system of philosophy differs in their outlook on the existence of phenomenal world and the nature of ultimate reality, Brahman

The different Acharyas, belonging to distinctly different branches, became founders of sects and great system-builders. The followers of these schools sought to prove their orthodoxy by interpreting the Vedanta Sutras in accordance with their own tenets, showing their claims to be based on, and regularly evolved from, ancient tradition.