Kākacaṇḍeśvarīmata

"Perhaps the oldest text preserved to us in this group is the Kākacaṇḍeśvarīmata. Its structure is that of an "original Tantra'' of the old "Mata" tradition, in which Bhairava is interrogated by Kākacaṇḍeśvarī "Violent Crow Lady". The Sanskrit is awkward; there is very little syntax, so that the meaning is often very difficult to ascertain. There are about 700 ślokas. At the outset, Bhairava remarks that the Vedas by reason of their advanced age cannot procure siddhi any more. The goddess then poses a series of questions, the first of which are after the identity of the soul (jīva), the reason for its bondage in matter and the law of karman and rebirth. These are succinctly answered. The jīva is no other than the atman; its bondage is a function of the activity of karman which leads to ignorance (ajñāna) ; saṃsāra is maintained by the jiva 's unfamiliarity with material devices ofimmortalization (dravyopaya). The Lady then asks for the means of attaining various powers including flying through the air, winning the love of divine ladies, magic ointment and pills, and the secrets of Rasāyana without which siddhi is impossible."

-- Goudriaan & Gopta, History of Tantric and Śākta Literature, pp. 124-5.