"Thiruvilaiyadal" has attained cult status in Tamil cinema. Along with "Karnan", it was responsible for a resurgence in devotional and mythological cinema, since it was released at a time when Tamil cinema primarily made social films. Film critic Baradwaj Rangan called "Thiruvilaiyadal" "the best" Tamil film epic released during the 1960s. Nagarajan and Ganesan collaborated on several more films in the genre, including "Saraswati Sabatham" (1966), "Thiruvarutchelvar" (1967), "Kandhan Karunai" (1967) and "Thirumal Perumai" (1968). Other notable films which followed the trend set by "Thiruvilaiyadal" include "Sri Raghavendrar" (1985) and "Meenakshi Thiruvilayadal" (1989). The film was a milestone of Nagesh's career, and the character of Dharumi is cited as one of his finest roles.