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Shamlaji temple is located on the banks of the Meshvo river in the valley surrounded by well-wooded hills. It is also referred to as Dholi Dhajawala due to the white silk flag fluttering on top of the temple.

Built of white sandstone and brick it is surrounded by a wall with a gateway. It is of two stories, supported on pillars, and a canopy with arches on each side. The lower courses of richly carved stone are of great age. Above them runs a frieze with an unintelligible pattern, and, above this, running right around the building, a fringe of elephants' heads and forequarters carved in stone. Above this are a very ranch worn frieze full of figures in bass relief, men on horseback with bows, and animals. The elephant is a very frequent emblem. Besides the fringe frieze above mentioned, there are, on the outer wall, between every two angles, larger figures of semi-rampant elephants standing out in relief, and, in front of the entrance, stands on either side of the doorway a gigantic cement elephant. Above the shrine, a pyramid-based tower rises into a spire-like a high-shouldered cone with flattened sides. The forepart of the roof consists of a number of small domes springing from a flat roof, or rather of a flat trabeate roof, with domes here and there, the largest being in the centre. Outside at all the angles of the roof are figures of animals and gargoyles. On the walls, there are some scenes from the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.

Of the two inscriptions, one is to the left in the upper story and bears date 94 AD and 102 AD. This writing, cut in stone, is not very archaic and could not be of the date it professes to record. It may be a transcript of an older inscription or the record of an old tradition. The other, on copper at the entrance of the temple, records repairs executed in 1762 AD by the then Thakor of Tintoi. From these two inscriptions, the name of the deity seems to be Gadadharji, the holder of the club, a well-known title of Vishnu, Krishna, or Shamlaji. The cow idols are also worshipped depicting the childhood of Krishna as a cowherd. It is one of the 154 important pilgrimage sites of Vaishnavism.

The temple was claimed by Jains in the past. Years ago the Idar State rulers gave the fiefdom of Shamlaji temple to the Modhari Rao Saheb with other villages like Revdar, Devdar, Napada, Khalsa, Sunsar, Modhari, etc. The Rao of Modhari still holds trusteeship of Shamlaji Temple.