yena rūpa matsya-kūrma-ādi avatāra
yena rūpa matsya-kūrma-ādi avatāra |
āvirbhāva-tirobhāva yena tā’-sabāra ||
ei mata bhāgavata kāro kṛta naya |
āvirbhāva tirobhāva āpanei haya ||
bhakti-yoge bhāgavata vyāsera jihvāya |
sphūrti se haila mātra kṛṣṇera kṛpāya ||
(Caitanya-bhāgavata: 3.3.510–512)
“As the forms of all the avatāras beginning with Matsya and Kūrma appear and disappear [i.e., are not created and destroyed], so too the Bhāgavata is not composed by anyone and rather appears and disappears of its own accord. By virtue of bhakti-yoga, the Bhāgavata appeared on Vyāsa’s tongue, and this happened only by Kṛṣṇa’s grace.”