Mahabharata 13.153.45

13.153.45

pitṛbhakto'si rājarṣe mārkaṇḍeya ivāparaḥ |
tena mṛtyustava vaśe sthito bhṛtya ivānataḥ || 45 ||

"Vasudeva said, 'I give thee leave, O Bhishma! Do thou, O king, attain to the status of the Vasus, O thou of great splendour, thou hast not been guilty of a single transgression in this world. O royal sage, thou art devoted to thy sire. Thou art, therefore, like a second Markandeya! It is for that reason that death depends upon thy pleasure even as thy slave expectant of reading thy pleasure!'