Over her long career, she received numerous awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay award in 1974, the prestigious Kalidas Samman in 1988, as well as her crowning achievement, the Bharat Ratna, in 1998.
She donated much of the prize money from these awards to charity. The desire to help those in need characterized her life – Subbulakshmi was actively involved in humanitarian work, and performed over 200 charity concerts, raising over Rs. 10,000,000 for different causes.