Shamlaji, also spelled Shamalaji, is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Aravalli district of Gujarat state of India. The Shamlaji temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Several other Hindu temples are located nearby.
The present temple dedicated to Shamlaji, a form of Vishnu was perhaps started in the 11th century in Chaulukya style, but the present structure dates from the 15th-16th centuries. The sculpture of Vishnu in the sanctuary is probably seventh-8th century, and the small temple opposite houses a sixth-century sculpture of Shiva. The oldest intact temple is the small ninth-century Harishchandrani Chauri Temple, with a gateway nearby. This site dates to the Mauryan period, and a much older microlith site known as Dhek-Vadlo locally was found near Shamlaji.
Shamlaji was an important Hindu centre in the sixth century, probably the home of a sculpture workshop whose creations are found as far away as Mumbai, where the Parel Relief was found. Most of the ancient sculpture found at Shamlaji, in blueish schist, has now been removed to museums, especially to Mumbai and Vadodara. It is also referred to as Dholi Dhajawala due to white silk flag fluttering on top of the temple.
The temple of Śāmalājī aka Śāmḷājī houses an idol of Viṣṇu in Trivikrama form. Idols of the Trivikrama form of Viṣṇu hold a gadā (mace), cakra (discus), padma (lotus), and śaṁkha (conch) in each of the four arms. The mace is notably larger than normal, leading to the image's other name as Gadādhara Viṣṇu. Recently however, the temple and idol has been slightly Krishnaized, and a small golden flute was added to his right hand.
On the outer wall there are carvings of Viṣṇu, Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa, and various episodes from the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and Rāmāyaṇa.