Dear aramakrishnan1, I must congratulate you for being so forthright in presenting a somewhat accurate picture of the Hindu system of varna classification. Most people will try to equivocate due to the controvertial nature of the claims. Your presentaion is more or less in conformity with the views published as authentic in kamakoti.org, the online presence of Kanchi Shankara Matam, and from personal experience I know it is more or less consistent with the views of Sri Vaishnavas, both Thenkalai and Vadakali. Let me point out some of the deviations from the main stream view. Please correct me if I am wrong by providing proper citation, I don't think there is any textual support for this % allocation. BTW, an interesting corollary of this % allocation and the claim highlighted above is, Shudras must be the cleanliest of them all as they spend 40% of the time in such activities, and the Brahmins and Kshatriyas must be the dirtiest as the claim is they spend only 10% of their time doing this. This claim is neither here nor there. It is not consistent with the mainstream thinking, which asserts each Brahmin can trace his/her lineage all the way back to a sage of the Vedic times. It is inconsistent with reality as we are all 100% mixed, we all are mongrels. Once again, correct me if I am wrong by providing proper citations, but I don't think this kind of varna classification for animals has any textual support or support in practice. This claim has a funny, or absurd, side, IMO -- while the humans are classified into 4 varnas, when it comes to animals, whole species are classified into one of the four varnas!! If all cows and snakes are Brahmins, who among their ranks is going to do all the physical labor? Also, what about the innumerable sub species, no difference there? Needless to stay, I reject all this reactionary gobbledygook, these are so patently contrary to basic human dignity, and basic rights of all human-beings for no other reason than being a human. Cheers!