• Yes, in Jain cosmology yaksha (male) and yakshini (female) are regarded as guardian or attendant beings. They are part of the sacred environment around a Tirthankara, not separate gods to be worshipped in the way deities are in other traditions.

• Role and purpose:

- They serve as protective and supportive beings for the Tirthankaras. - They accompany the Tirthankara during the journey of awakening and spiritual practice, helping to ward off obstacles and sustain the penance and meditation. - They are regarded as auspicious presences that symbolize and reinforce the Tirthankara’s spiritual power. They may also be described as witnesses and guardians of the Tirthankara’s renunciation and path to kevala jnana.

• How they are viewed in different Jain streams:

- Both Digambaras and Śvetāmbaras acknowledge yakshas and yakshinis as attendants of the Tirthankaras, though the names and emphases can vary between texts and traditions. The essential idea in both is that these beings are protective, supportive presences rather than independent objects of worship.

• Important note:

- In Jain practice, the veneration is directed toward the Tirthankara and the spiritual goal; yakshas and yakshinis are acknowledged as part of the sacred milieu that surrounds the Tirthankara, not as separate objects of devotional worship in the way gods are in some other traditions.

If you’d like, I can provide more detail on specific yaksha/yakshini attested for particular Tirthankaras or point you to Jain texts that name them in Digambara and Śvetāmbara sources.