Turner's article is mainly about the type of compound seen in aśva-tara, and, among other forms, mentions vyāghra-tara, which ended up in Kipling's Jungle Book as Bagheera. As to aśvatara, Turner writes that it is of pre-Indo-Aryan origin. It would be supported directly by Persian astra and indirectly by Khotanese khaḍara "mule", from hypothetical khara-tara (with reference to H.W. Bailey, BSOA 10, 590).

Herman