> Against the dictionary entries as quoted by Roland Steiner, Van Buitenen
> translates /kharīvātsalya/ (MBh) as „a she-ass’s love“ (p. 435).

This corresponds to Ganguli's translation::
 
“If, O Sanjaya, thou art about to be stained with infamy and I do not (from affection) tell thee anything, then that affection, worthless and unreasonable, would be like that of the she-ass’s for her young.”
 
taṃ tvām ayaśasā spṛṣṭaṃ na brūyāṃ yadi saṃjaya
kharīvātsalyam āhus tan niḥsāmarthyam ahetukam (MBh 5.133.6)
 
The reason for this interpretation is obvious: The standard dictionary meaning of khara is “donkey” (kharī “she-donkey”), but why should the affection of a she-donkey towards her foal be “inappropriate” and “groundless”? The PW (and other dictionaries), however, lists further meanings of khara, including “mule” (“Maulthier”).
The fact that the female form kharī according to the same dictionary also should mean “she-hinny” (“Mauleselin”) besides “she-donkey” could be a further hint that the difference between mules and hinnies was not taken into account here.

By the way, Böhtlingk's main source for the meaning "khara = mule ('Maulthier')" is Puruṣottamadeva's Trikāṇḍaśeṣa 2.8.44, where three words meaning "mule" (and/or "hinny"?) are listed (veśara [= vesara], aśvatara, and khara).

Best regards,
Roland Steiner