1959
Sri Lanka’s Sahitya Akademi Award for the best Sinhalese novel with his first book, Malagiya Attho
1972
First Sri Lankan to be appointed by the Special Committee of the Swedish Academy to nominate writers to the Selection Committee for the Nobel Prize in Literature 1974.
1982
Honorary D. Litt from the University of Jaffna
Honorary D. Litt from the University of Peradeniya
Professor Emeritus of the University of Peradeniya
1983
The Kumaran Asan World Prize for Literature by the State of Kerala in South India
1987
Sri Lanka’s Arts Council Award for the Best English novel of 1985 for the manuscript of With the Begging Bowl
1988
Ramon Magsaysay Award International Prize for Creative Art and Journalism
1991
Honorary D. Litt from the University of Jayawardenapura
1993
Appointed as the Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
1995
Awarded the Japanese Decoration: “The Order of the Sacred Treasure – The Gold and Silver Star” by the Japanese government as a mark of appreciation for his magnanimous contribution to Sri Lanka- Japan relations, especially in the fields of scholarship and culture.
