Lyricist-poet-novelist Vairamuthu has been conferred with the Jnanpith Award, which is regarded as India's highest literary honour. He is only the third person from the world of Tamil literature to become a Jnanpith Award recipient and the first to do so in the last 20 years. Akilan and Jayakanthan are the only other Jnanpith Award recipients from Tamil Nadu.

Calling it the greatest award in literature and India's Nobel Prize-equivalent, the lyricist-poet expressed his pleasure to receive the award. He noted that the previous recipients are prose writers and that his achievement marks the first such honour for poetry in Tamil. He also dedicated it to Tamil Nadu and its people and said that it instills in him a greater sense of purpose and a fresh vigour.

Congratulating Vairamuthu, Chief Minister MK Stalin called him the 'Emperor of Poetry' and said that the news about his achievement came shortly after his meeting with the poet-lyricist. Expressing his delight at the news, the CM made a special note of how, unlike the previous two winners, Vairamuthu stands out for his skills in traditional and modern poetry. "If he were alive, it would have brought our leader M Karunanidhi to his feet to praise the Emperor of Poetry. Standing in his place, I congratulate Poetry Emperor, Vairamuthu," the CM added. "The whole of Tamil Nadu congratulates the Poetry Emperor," the minister signed off.

Vairamuthu also won both the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Kallikattu Ithikasam and the Padma Shri in 2003 and the Padma Bhushan 11 years later. While he was conferred with the ONV Literary Award in 2021, he turned it down following backlash over allegations of sexual harassment made against him.