The University of Jaffna and the University of Peradeniya conferred Sarachchandra the degree of Doctor of Literature in 1982. Also in that year he was made an Emeritus Professor at the University of Peradeniya. In 1983 the State of Kerala in South India awarded Sarachchandra the Kumaran Asan World Prize. In 1988 he won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature. On 3 June 2014, Sarachchandra's birth centenary falls which has been recognized by UNESCO. With that, he became the first and only Sri Lankan artist to be recognized by UNESCO.