I found this site which claimed that Ancient India was an extremely advanced civilization whose technology equaled & in some cases even surpassed current technology. None of the claims have external, reliable citations. Can anyone support or debunk any of the claims made?

Guns: Some people in medieval Europe heard of powerful fire weapons of the India. Marco Polo (in 13th century) was financed by the king of his country with the specific purpose of finding the secret of the Indian fire weapons. Marco Polo was given gold coins and precious stones.

And finally,

Who invented nuclear weapons? You may have heard about the great Astras mentioned in our Puranas. But you may not have read about them in detail: “The Mahabharata – an ancient Indian epic compiled 3000 years ago – contains a reference to a terrible weapon. Regrettably, in our age of the atomic bomb, the description of this weapon exploding will not appear to be an exaggeration: ‘…. a blazing shaft possessed of the effulgence of a smokeless fire (was) let off…’. That was how this weapon was perceived. The consequences of its use also evoke involuntary associations. ‘… This makes the bodies of the dead unidentifiable. … The survivors lose their nails and hair, and their food becomes unfit for eating. For several subsequent years the Sun, the stars and the sky remain shrouded with clouds and bad weather’. This weapon was known as the Weapon of Brahma or the Flame of Indra

As far as I know, the Mahabharata is just a story. But even if we assume that the technology described in the book is not a product of the author's imagination, then could anyone confirm whether the above paragraph is actually taken from a reliable translation of the epic? It is possible that the writer of the article perverted the story to fit his hypothesis.

And also: Did our ancients know radars and laser weapons?